Star Fox: Sons of Legends
by Chopper Joe
Summary: This is AU, taking place many years after the Aperoid invasion with Fox and Krystal now retired and married with their son Marcus. However, Fox meets another child, who turns out to be the abandoned son of Wolf O'Donnell.
1. Chapter 1

Star Fox: Sons of Legends

Part 1: Peacetime

Chapter 1: Introduction

Fox McCloud lives an ordinary life.

At least, he lives an ordinary life now, but it had not always been that way. It was not always that he got up in the morning, prepared for work, kissed his wife and child goodbye and left for the small, airline factory, working an eight hour shift and returning home before dinner time. No, Fox used to live a much more exuberant life, filled with both danger and adventure. He was once a mercenary, a warrior, a leader. He was once the captain of a small military program called Star Fox. It was not a "sophisticated" program, that is to say, a program that was fully recognized by the Cornarian military or signed off as being truly legitimate. Regardless of this, Star Fox was made up of very real, and very heroic, arwing pilots. They were expert fighters who spent their days flying through the dark vacuum of space and facing the horrors that riddled the great unknown. What made them heroic? How about always fighting for the peace loving Lylat planets who could not defend themselves from the monsters who wished to destroy them? How about saving the whole Lylat system from a race of bloodthirsty aliens knows as Aperoids and their power hungry tyrant of a leader Andros? How about putting an end to the organized crime of the twisted mercenary program Star Wolf? But Fox has retired from that lifestyle, and all of these things are irrelevant to him now. Now he was just another man (or another vulpine to be exact, for there are many lylat species, and they all share characteristics of the animals back on earth, but these details are irrelevant for now).

Indeed, Fox was now retired, and happy to be so. Although he would admit that he did sometimes miss the excitement, the action, and the intense adrenaline that came from being an arwing space pilot, he would also say that a life always under those circumstances would be no real way to live, especially if your love life was your wing man. Fox met Krystal, the woman who would be his future wife, under the worst circumstances. Although he managed to rescue Krystal from Andros, he could not prevent the genocidal madman from destroying her entire planet. Tragically, Krystal was left a princess without a kingdom, and even now she would admit that, had it not been for Fox, her knight in shining armor, she would not have had the will to go on living. When Fox had asked her to join his team, Krystal felt like her life was resurrected. With her unique telepathic abilities, combined with personal training from Fox, Krystal quickly turned into an arwing master.

Of course, even with great skill, both Krystal and Fox and the entire Star Fox team for that matter faced many hazards. Being a mercenary pilot wasn't exactly the safest job in the lylat system, and each member had close calls during missions. Very close calls. Too close. In fact, ironically enough, it was after one mission that nearly killed Krystal that Fox finally, if not accidentally, opened up to her in an emotional fit of paranoia and fear. Although it happened under odd (and rather comical) circumstances, Krystal was enthralled to see Fox finally pronounce his love for her. In fact she was so happy she actually came to tears, for knowing that someone still truly loved her even after her whole race was lost was the best comfort Krystal could ever live under and indeed, she too had always loved Fox McCloud.

As the years passed on, peace finally began to establish itself. Wars ended, treaties were signed, organized crime gradually declined, and violence seemed to lose its grip in the Lylat system. Fox began to see that the Star Fox team was no longer needed, and both he and Krystal decided to resign from their positions. Although the program still continued under the leadership of Falco, Fox's longtime avian friend and second–in–command, Star Fox was watered down to a simple police force, stopping the occasional pirate and mercenary thug. In short, it became an old dusty relic from the past that was never really forgotten, but deemed irrelevant.

But all of this is history. Now Fox is concerned with other matters. Loving his wife, spending time with his son, paying bills, attending meetings, and taking vacations are now Fox's goals in life. But the past never truly goes away. The unexpected turns of life never seem to end, no matter how ordinary one tries to be. And it was on this day, this beautiful Cornarian spring day, a small, almost completely forgotten element of Fox's past, no, a hint of his past, would come unexpectedly into his life. Although one would not say accidentally, for the incident, with all of its amazing consequences, could not possibly be described as a tremendous accident. Fox had no idea that, today, meeting a dirty, angry, abandoned lupine child would not only change his life, but would also alter the very future of the entire Lylat system.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: A Destiny Handed Down

"Stop that kid!" the police screamed.

A small, black furred, lupine child was the culprit they seemed to be chasing. It was not a rare site to see, for the child escaped from his orphanage on a weekly basis and the police and orphanage officials always had a hard time keeping him contained. The child's name was Leon.

To say that Leon was an unordinary child would be the understatement of the age. He was only eleven years old, yet he was constantly mistaken for being fifteen or sixteen due to his unnatural lupine size and strength. He had a reputation for being a trouble maker, but always came off with a stoic, adult like personality when talking to orphanage officials or police or even other kids. He seemed to always carry an uncanny silence, yet was somehow able to get into fights where he would challenge, and beat, several boys at once (it was rumored that he even beat a street thug after escaping from the orphanage once). Even judging by the standards of lupines he was strange. Almost all lupines had white, brown, grey, or light bluish fur, yet his was dark like the night with a white strip running across the center of his skull. Many of the children had nicknamed him "The Werewolf", which they thought fit well with his silent personality and irrational outbursts of rage.

But the most extraordinary thing about Leon was kept from many people. It was a secret that he never dared to share with anyone. It was the reason the orphanage headmaster, an old hare with grey fur, had always looked down upon and abused Leon. Leon was the son of the notorious Wolf O'Donnell. Wolf was the leader of the mercenary program Star Wolf, a corrupted squad of mercenary pilots who had gained a reputation for organized crime during Andros's reign of terror. Of course, the name was meant to mock the heroic pilots of the Star Fox team, and Fox and Wolf where archenemies during their years of service. Despite their immense rivalry, the two did not hate each other. Although Wolf was a hijacking, pirating bandit, Fox had always admired his courage, his stoicism, and his strong will. And although Wolf thought that Fox was a fake, naïve prig, he did respect his loyalty, his honor, his bravery, and above all, his skill.

Leon, however, only knew two things about his father. That he was the scum of the galaxy and the archenemy of the greatest hero in the Lylat system. The first he had figured out from the orphanage headmaster, who constantly reminded Leon of his bad blood.

"That father of yours was a scumbag and a worm" the hare would say to Leon after bringing him back to the orphanage "and let me tell you something else Leon. You're just like your old man!"

Of course, Leon had learned about Fox McCloud from the other children. They would always tell stories to each other about the great hero Fox McCloud fighting the nasty villain, Wolf O'Donnell. They would go into explicit detail about how Fox and Wolf would have great battles in space, with Fox always winning of course. They would perform little kid reenactments of Fox's and Wolf's battles, with the two kid actors arguing beforehand because both wanted to be Fox. Leon would just sit in the corner, never participating in the little games.

He hated both of them. Fox McCloud and Wolf O'Donnell, but more than anything, Leon hated Fox. Leon could never really explain it, but he had always wanted to fight Fox McCloud. To beat him in battle. No, that was not enough, he wanted to kill the vulpine. To destroy him. To end the little stories behind the old legend. But why? Why did he want this? Why did he want so badly to kill the man who his father, not himself, had fought his whole life?

"It's not for my father" Leon would think to himself "He doesn't give a damn about me, and I don't give a damn about him. He abandoned me here. Left me here. He doesn't care. No, I am doing this for myself. I will gain a reputation as a criminal. I will be the villain on my own standards, not because my father is one."

This is what Leon tried to convince himself of. He wanted to say it was because he would be a criminal either way, and if it was going to be that way for him no matter what, he would rather have it on his own terms. This is what he convinced himself of, but it was a lie. And he knew it was a lie. In reality, he just wanted to see his father. And if he killed the archenemy of his father, maybe, just maybe, Wolf would come to his planet, because all Leon really wanted was to hear his father say

"Well done son. I'm proud of you."

Leon didn't care if his father was scum. He didn't care if his father was a criminal. He didn't even care if he was the devil himself. He wanted a father. He wanted someone, anyone, to tell him

"I love you."

Thoughts ran through Leon's head as he ran from the authorities.

"This is it" he thought to himself. "This is my chance. I can prove my strength. I can show the galaxy who I am and what I can do."

Unlike Leon's other "orphanage escapes" this one had a real purpose besides wanting to get away from the Headmaster and other children, for two days earlier, Leon had heard the most wonderful news in his entire life. While walking on the streets after another glorious escape, Leon overheard two factory workers talking to each other. A rusty old bulldog and a lizard whose green scales looked as if they had faded away over the years. The bulldog spoke with a deep, sophisticated voice.

"You won't believe who that orange furred vulpine who works at the factory is" he said.

"won't believe?' the lizard replied with a thin, bat-like voice, "who is it?"

"Well," the Bulldog started "I must say, I didn't really believe it myself. At first I thought it was just another rumor started by rookies who had nothing else better to do, but after reading the employee charts more thoroughly, there's no doubt about. It's McCloud. Fox McCloud. You know, the war hero who the media always seemed to use as propaganda like an infant uses a pacifier? It's him"

The lizard laughed and started.

"Don't be absurd, it's obviously a corporate error." he said, "He wouldn't retire to an insignificant backwater like this."

The bulldog shook his head.

"No, it's definitely him. I even spoke to the manager about it. He said that Fox simply told him that he was just looking for a peaceful place to live. Although it makes since. This place is way out in the wilderness. He probably came here to escape from the media always pestering his tail. I mean, can you imagine someone like _him_ trying to retire? The public would never give him a break."

Leon didn't listen to the rest of the conversation. He was too busy walking down the streets, pondering over what he just heard. The bulldog had said that Fox, his father's archenemy, was not only on Leon's planets, but was living in his small, humble, and insignificant town. Leon's face was completely emotionless, but his walking seemed to slow down as he if he was careful not to trip or bump into anything.

He doubted it at first, thought it was just a joke, just a nice little prank the bulldog was playing on people. But the thought, the tiniest, simplest idea that he could fulfill his dream was enough to get Leon into action.

During that night, he decided to break into the factory (he had broken into places before) and take a look at the employee checklist in the manager's office. He started by first observing the building from the outside, looking for an entry point less obvious then the front door. He looked up the walls, and noticed that one of the three windows located about halfway up the building was left open by some lazy employee. Using his claws, he climbed up the brick wall and managed to sneak through the window. As he walked through the mostly dark building, he was very careful not to run into the security guard or be seen by any cameras. With each room he passed, Leon looked at the name right above the door, labeling either its owner or purpose. He finally found a door on the first level labeled, "Head Managers Office". Because the factory was already locked from the outside, there were no other locks on any of the doors on the inside, and Leon was able to open the door and simply walk in. He began looking for a paper or list with names or occupations, anything that might resemble an employee checklist. He finally found a list with names that were in alphabetical order, along with an occupation for each name, and Leon began scrolling down it with his eyes until he reached the M's. When he reached it, sure enough, he found what he was looking for.

"Fox McCloud: manual design and quality assurance" the list read.

Leon's eyes widened and his heart began to beat fast and his mind began to spin so much that he almost shouted out with joy. The bulldog hadn't lied. Fox, Leon's enemy by blood, was really on his planet, and was really in his town.

Leon quickly wrote down Fox's check-in time and snuck right out of the factory and back into his orphanage.

The next day, Leon planned his whole encounter with his enemy. He would escape from the orphanage early in the morning before the other kids where awake, arrive at the factory around 8:00, and challenge Fox McCloud right as he's arriving, right in front of everyone. Leon couldn't contain his excitement. He would occasionally flash a menacing smile to himself as he fantasized about his fight with Fox.

"And I will defeat him" Leon whispered to himself, "I will, no matter what. I _will_ kill Fox McCloud."

And it was on this day that Leon put his plan into action. Unfortunately, it did not go quite as he had planned, and the authorities were chasing him as soon as he had snuck (or thought he had snuck) out of the orphanage, but Leon was completely fearless. His face was beaming with determination, and nothing was going to keep him from his goal.

"It doesn't matter anymore" Leon thought, "I don't plan on going back, and as soon as I kill my enemy, I'll become the most infamous villain in the whole system."

Leon arrived at the factory just in time, but for some reason, his enemy was not there at the check-in station. Leon was filled with anger, thinking his whole plan was botched because, for whatever reason, his enemy had decided not to show up at work that day.

Distracted by his own anger, Leon was caught off guard when a police official caught him by the arm.

"Alright son," the avian officer began "it's time to give u- AAAAGH!"

Before he could finish, Leon used his free arm to make a claw mark across the birds chest, causing him to let go and stumble backwards. The other authorities gasped with surprise, and the red bird's cries of pain caught the attention of many factory workers who were checking in for work. Leon crouched down into a fighting position, barring his fangs and growling. None of the officers approached him, but they did surround him and most of the workers, seeing the kid attack the officer, barred Leon's other escape routes. Luckily for Leon, he was the descendant of a warrior race, and even the combined strength of several adults couldn't scare him. Of course, Leon could use his lupine strength to break through a couple of men and escape if he wanted too. But he didn't. He couldn't. If he ran now, he would never be able to face his true enemy.

"How could I fight him if I can't fight a small group of random citizens and mediocre police officers?" Leon reasoned to himself. "If I ever want to fight him, I can never retreat, and I can _never_ lose."

Barring all of his teeth and claws, Leon prepared for battle.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Unexpected Meeting

The distance between Fox's house and the factory wasn't a long one. Living in a small, secluded community meant all of the buildings and all of the people where very close to each other, and Fox could easily walk to his job in under thirty minutes. Fox loved walking on the streets to his factory. His community, Ucara was its name, dwelt in the outskirts of the Cornarian cities and was almost right in the middle of the large Cornarian forests. It was, no doubt, a beautiful and peaceful place to live, and besides the one, small factory, it was very clean. His eight-year old son could even walk around the forest alone without his parents due to there being virtually no dangerous predators or bandits (of course, Krystal uses her telepathic powers to keep an eye out on Marcus, and to keep him from wandering off too far). Before his retirement, Fox had no idea he could enjoy peace so much, and to experience it now was like a grown man's first taste of wine, filled with so much new flavor and feeling. As Fox walked to his job, he closed his eyes and smiled, breathing the wonderful summer air into his lungs and out through his mouth. Peace was a truly marvelous thing.

Fox's eyes shot open and his peace was broken. In the direction of the factory, a voice suddenly cried out in pain. Worry began to fester itself in Fox's heart and he began running, wondering if there had been a horrible accident. It wasn't rare for accidents to occur, but still the idea of someone getting seriously injured in such a peaceful community was terrifying to Fox. Seeing a large crowd of people in the distance right outside his factory, Fox ran faster. His legs carried him to speeds he hadn't achieved since his ground missions so many years ago. Fox was closer to the crowd now, and he could hear the cries of pain right through the circle of people. As he approached, Fox nudged his way between two workers to see the victim of the accident.

Out of all the things Fox was expecting to see, this one was on the bottom of the list. There was no accident, and to Fox's relief no one looked seriously injured. But what caused Fox to tilt his head and raise his eyebrows was where the scream was coming from. On the outskirt of the crowd, an avian police officer was grunting in pain and nursing his wound, which appeared to be a large laceration on his chest. Other officers were attending him. It wasn't too serious, but it sure looked pretty painful. Fox then saw the supposed culprit of the crime, which didn't so much surprise Fox as it did confuse him. At the center circle of the surrounding crowd of people, a dirty, black furred lupine child was crouching down and snarling at the workers and officers. Fox could see blood dripping from his claw.

Fox immediately knew what had happened. For whatever reason, this lupine was being pursued by the authorities, and one of them got too close without understanding the nature of the warrior race. During his adventures, Fox had plenty of run-ins with both friendly and hostile lupines, and if there's anything he understood about the race, it's that all of them, even the women and children, were infamous for their hot-blooded rage, sudden outbursts of anger, and extraordinary power. The last thing you ever wanted to do was approach these fighters without caution, honor, or respect. The officers probably had no idea of the child's natural born abilities, and probably thought he was just another runaway kid.

Fox put his hand under his chin, wondering why this child was alone, and why he was being pursued by the authorities. It made no since for the lupine to be by himself on this planet, and clearly he was alone, for lupines rarely fight by themselves and prefer to fight in squads or "packs". And although lupines can go into uncontrollable fits of rage, it takes a lot to make one angry enough to challenge an entire crowd of people, especially a child, for lupines where always taught by their parents and trainers to conceal their anger and use it when necessary. Lupines, from the day they can walk, are constantly honing their fighting skills, and they are always taught the principles of honor and self-control. Clearly, this poor child had unnaturally grown up in an environment where none of his species could teach him the basics.

When Fox stepped closer into the circle, one of the authorities yelled at him while pointing his stunner at the child.

"Stand back!" he demanded "Do you have any idea how dangerous he is!? That child's crazy!"

Fox stopped about two meters away from the lupine. The lupine's eyes slowly turned to Fox and his snarl morphed into a piercing frown when he met his eyes. For a while, the two just stared at each other and the crowd simply watched, the police preparing to fire if necessary, but hoping to refrain from having to shoot a child. Then, slowly but surely, the child began to crouch closer to the ground until it was on all fours, and even slower, it raised its left arm with its claws unsheathed. Fox knew exactly what this meant. The lupine was challenging him to a duel.

Although Fox had not planned on fighting a lupine, he knew he couldn't back down. It wasn't as if Fox was obeying some code of strict honor, but almost like he was following some real law of nature, for the fire of war was in the blood of all lupines, and to deny any of them a challenge would be like denying the principles of nature herself. But more importantly, Fox wanted to restrain this child before the police had to intervene.

"That's him." Leon thought to himself. "That's my enemy. That's Fox McCloud. That is the man I was born to kill."

Slowly, Leon crouched into his striking position which he had always used while fighting one person. His heart rate increased its already fast pace, his muscles tensed, his fangs where barred, and time itself seemed to slow down as Leon prepared his killing strike.

Fox got into his standard military fighting position. His right leg in front of his left leg, his right arm with his fingers extended ready to block his opponents attack and his left one turned over and brought down to the side of his stomach with his fingers clinched, ready to deliver a punch. He waited for the child, the vulpine, and the warrior, to strike.

With a roar, Leon barred his claws and pounced at his enemy, but with lighting speed, Fox merely side stepped the lupine and brought his foot down on his challengers back, completely derailing Leon's strike and making him drag across the dirt on his stomach. Before he could get up, Fox jumped onto the child's back and held both of his arms together while softly pressing his knee into a very specific spot on the back, totally restraining the lupines movements. The fight was already over, but the child, true to his lupine pride, refused to accept defeat and continued to struggle against Fox's restraint.

"Let go of me!" Leon growled, "You coward! Stop holding me down like this and fight me like a real warrior is supposed to fight!"

He continued his meaningless struggle. Fox had him pinned down completely.

"Don't move" Fox said softly and quietly "Don't struggle. You'll only make it worse."

Leon completely ignored his words and continued to squirm.

" _Listen_ to me." Fox said much more sternly, but still with that soft, and somewhat caring, tone "I know you're upset, I know you're angry, but if you don't calm down, the police are going to stun you no matter what I do"

Still, Leon struggled like an injured beast and growled once more,

"What makes you think I give a damn about them?" Leon said, "I'm not scared of them. And you can go drown in a cesspool!"

Fox closed his eyes, leaned closer to Leon, and spoke as if is he was speaking to his own son.

"Please" he said with an almost whispering voice "I want to _help_ you. I know you're upset, but getting angry isn't going to help anyone, especially yourself. I understand that you're angry, but right now, for your own sake, I just need you to _trust_ me. Please."

Leon was completely speechless. The words that Fox spoke reached Leon's ears and sounded like a different language, for no one had ever spoken to him like that before. The softness, the quietness, the care. Slowly but surely, weather through tiredness or shock, Leon began to calm down. Fox was finally able to let the lupine go and stand up. Leon got up right after Fox let go of him. His eyes were wide, his mouth open, and he looked at Fox like an odd math problem he had never studied before.

The chief police officer, a young bobcat probably somewhere in his twenties, who had been watching the seen unfold with the rest of the crowd, holstered his pistol and signed with relief. Although he was upset that his sergeant got a nasty scar, he was happy it wasn't serious and didn't involve any citizens. The chief nodded to his lieutenant who then addressed the rest of the crowd.

"Alright people," the lieutenant began "that's all. Shows over. Go back to your ordinary lives. Move along now, thank you."

With that, almost all of the workers, now behind schedule, decided to clock-in, and a few of the other officers took the wounded avian sergeant to a hospital to get proper treatment.

The chief walked right up to Fox and Leon. Fox gave a soft smile while Leon glared, unsure about the armed officer. Pretending that Leon wasn't even there, the chief addressed Fox directly.

"Thank you for your help citizen." the bobcat began with a strong, North Cornarian accent. "Don't worry mate. We'll take him from here."

Leon tensed, but Fox put a hand on the lupine. The movement caused Leon to flinch, but he strangely felt a fire inside of his chest quickly begin to die down.

"That won't be necessary officer," Fox replied, "I can handle him."

Leon looked directly at Fox with his eyes wider than ever, but Fox just gave another soft smile that said,

"It'll be okay."

The chief just shook his head.

"I'm sorry mate," he started, "but that's not your call to make. He assaulted my sergeant, and that is a direct violation of-

"He was angry," Fox interrupted, "you don't have to arrest a kid because of that. Besides, your sergeant will be fine. It's just a flesh wound, nothing serious. Please sir, in his own defense, the child is part of a unique race who are known for very aggressive behavior."

The officer rubbed his forehead and spoke, sounding as if his patience was beginning to wear down.

"Look," he started, "I understand you helped us out and was a good chap and all, but that does not mean you get to overrule my direct orders! So please, if you could just be civil about this, hand the child over to us and we'll take care of him."

"Son, do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

The three looked over to see whose voice was speaking. He was one of the few workers who decided to stay and see what would happen. Leon immediately recognized him. He was the rusty old bulldog who Leon had overheard talking just two days ago, the same one who, unknowingly, awakened Leon's dream.

"That's not just some pipsqueak law-abiding citizen," the bulldog said, "That there's Fox McCloud, and even though he's retired, his previous rank is definitely higher than anything you could ever achieve!"

The bobcat looked away from the bulldog and at Fox, looking as if he was playing I-Spy. The chief looked closely at Fox until his head suddenly jerked backwards.

"Good heavens" the bobcat began, "I know you! You're part of that bloody group of war dogs I always read about in the newspaper! What was it called again? Stalk Fox? Stair Fox!"

"Uh, Star Fox" Fox corrected him while looking away and scratching the back of his head.

The gears turned in Fox's head, and then his eyes widened as a lightbulb seemed to turn on.

"Yes" he started with a sophisticated voice "I was part of Star Fox. In fact, I was the leader of the team!" He said with pride and authority, clearly meant to impress the bobcat.

"Bloody hell!" the bobcat started, "Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Perfect, bloody perfect. Out of all the famous people I could mistake for being a random citizen, why the devil did it have to be _this_ guy, a freaking war hero?"

Fox smiled, and continued talking with both pride and authority,

"Oh, it's nothing officer. I'm sure you didn't mean it. Anybody could have made that mistake. Now, I hope you'll allow me to take care of the child myself?"

Leon couldn't help but give a small grin when he saw that bobcats defeated gaze. Although he was absolutely confused about why his enemy was helping him, anything would be better than going with the police.

The bobcat sighed and spoke with a resigned voice,

"Very well. You may take care of him for now. But this doesn't make you his official guardian, and if he does anything else reckless or hurts anyone else…" he spoke once again with authority "… _you'll_ answer for it, and you'll answer to me. I don't give a lip if you're the supreme creator himself, this child can't go around being as reckless as he wants. If he does anything else, we _will_ take him. I'll inform the orphanage of his new caretaker."

Fox nodded and spoke without his fake pride,

"I understand officer." he said, "He won't be any more trouble. You have my word."

With that, the chief walked to his station and the rest of the workers who stayed finally clocked-in for work.

Fox and Leon were left alone right outside the factory. Leon stared at Fox with a completely blank and bewildered expression. Fox grabbed Leon's hand, and although Leon was hesitant at first, he could actually sense an aura of peace and safety that seemed to emit from this man like a candle's light in a dark and lonely world.

"Let's go" Fox said.

And with that, the two walked away.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Other Son

Fox's house was located about half a mile from the rest of the Ucara. It was in a perfect location, surrounded by the Ucara woods with a small path that lead to the rest of civilization. About forty percent of the landmass on Cornaria was made up of large, green and lush-full forests. During the spring and summer time, the tree trees blossomed with leaves and tree life while in the winter, almost half of Cornaria looked like a tundra. Although the Cornarians where known for being an advanced industrial civilization, their planet was a beautiful place in terms of nature's own handiwork.

Marcus loved to be in the Ucara woods. As an eight-year old vulpine, the forest was a perfect playground for the little blue-furred pup. All of his free time was spent there. He would climb trees, collect leaves, look at insects, and engrave symbols on tree trunks trying to mark the forest as his own territory. He would sit on rocks for hours at a time pretending he was flying in an Arwing during a great space battle, fighting bravely against the evil Aperoid Empire. But above all, Marcus loved to fight. At least he loved to _pretend_ fight, and rarely did Marcus ever have anyone else to play with. But Marcus didn't care. He was completely fine playing by himself. Of course, being a child, Marcus was just another straightforward, naïve and innocent little munchkin. However, unlike most children his age, he was extremely tough and thought that crying was something only newborns did (this was probably inherited from his father, who only cried once in his childhood when he lost his mother).

There was one significant thing that really did set Marcus apart from other children. In fact, it almost completely alienated him from all other people. Marcus was a telepath. Fox and Krystal weren't _intentionally_ trying to give their child his mother's unique mind abilities, and it was very rare for a vixen telepath like Krystal to give birth to a child with telepathic power when her mate wasn't a telepath. But Marcus was born with telepathy. Very powerful telepathy. By the time he was six, both Krystal and her husband realized their son's amazing power when he could read both of their minds at once and talk to both them at once via telepathic communication.

At first, both parents didn't see any problem with their son's power, but as soon as Marcus entered kindergarten, a big issue began to reveal itself. Marcus had no control over his power. In class, his mind would run rampant, reading the minds of all the students and the teacher at once. All the minds, all the memories, and all the emotions were absolutely overwhelming for Marcus. The telepath would experience nervous breakdowns and begin crying out of nowhere (which horribly embarrassed him) and to make the situation worse, his mind would still be connected to all of the other children, causing them to begin screaming and crying over scary or stressful images that arose in their heads due to Marcus's own emotions.

Luckily, Krystal sensed Marcus's emotions at school and she managed to calm him down (which was difficult, due to Marcus's extraordinary power) However, Fox and Krystal knew there was no way they could keep Marcus at school and endanger the other children and teachers. After apologizing to teachers, parents, and the principle, Fox and Krystal pulled Marcus out of school.

Although she didn't realize it at first, Krystal began to see that this was the most natural thing her son could go through. Before it was destroyed, there were many telepaths on Krystal's planet, and they all practiced their abilities with each other. It only made since for Krystal's son to experience this kind of problem, for both he and Krystal where the only telepaths on Cornaria, and practicing with anyone else would be impossible. Although Krystal was disappointed that her son couldn't go to a regular school, she was happy that she could spend more time with him. She began to homeschool him, along with doing one hour of what she called "Telepathy Class". During this hour, Krystal would teach Marcus how to control his power, properly read minds, and sense the emotions of others.

The one thing Marcus loved to do most was practice his fighting skills. With his father being a war hero, Marcus wanted to grow up being just like dad. He would come up with a variety of moves for himself, but of course, being moves that where created by a child, none of them were really effective, and consisted of only a few dollar store versions of punches and kicks. But if there is one thing Marcus does have in terms of physical prowess, it's his speed. Like his father, Marcus was born with absolutely incredible speed. While practice fighting with his son (at Marcus's request of course), Fox noticed Marcus's speed was almost matching his own, and although the child didn't have many effective attacks, Fox saw that Marcus could easily out maneuver most of his opponents.

Most telepaths could use their abilities to gain the upper hand in battle. Krystal, not surprisingly, had no interest in teaching Marcus any telepathic abilities that involved fighting, but the child was used to teaching himself. After practicing with many animals in the forest, Marcus finally managed to develop one telepathic move. The move was simply a temporary mind distraction which caused Marcus's opponent to lose focus for a couple of seconds. Although simple by design, it did give Marcus a two second threshold to strike his enemy. When he practiced the move on his father, Fox admitted that he was surprised by the attack and that he was proud of Marcus's abilities, which caused the little vulpine to wag his tail, give a large grin and blush from being embarrassed because he couldn't conceal his happiness from his father's compliment. Krystal was not exactly comfortable with her son using his telepathy for violence, but she was happy to see him getting better control of his power.

As Marcus laid down on his back with his hands behind his head in the small green circle of grass that didn't have trees and was surrounded by the rest of the forest, he thought about all the other children at school. As stated before, Marcus was fine playing by himself. He actually preferred it. Marcus knew that no other kid would really want to fight with him because he would obviously be stronger and that all the other children would be scarred of him due to his telepathic abilities. Marcus closed his eyes and gave a large smile.

In an odd way, Marcus took pride in being an oddball. He liked the idea that he was different. He liked his unique powers and wouldn't give them up for anything, even if all the other children thought it was scary and looked at Marcus like he was some sort of boogie man.

"The kids are scarred of me" he thought to himself "I wonder if adults will be scarred of me too when I grow up!" Marcus giggled with the thought in his head.

But deep down, in the debts of his soul, Marcus was lonely. Deep down, he wanted a friend to play with. Although he had his mother and father, Marcus knew there was something missing, that there was someone missing. He just knew that there wasn't something write with his loneliness. He didn't like to think about it too much, because the thought made him feel very alone, and he _was_ very alone. Marcus's grin disappeared as he looked up into the blue skies of Cornaria. He examined the clouds, trying unsuccessfully to make out any cool or interesting shapes.

It wasn't just a friend Marcus wanted. It was a brother. He had seen kids have brothers before, and the thought of having one was amazing to Marcus. The idea of always having someone around him, to have a friend who he could always talk to, relate to, and, of course, to fight with was so exciting to Marcus. He had so many dreams about having a brother, but that's all they were. Dreams.

Feeling exhausted from playing and thinking, Marcus turned over on his side and curled up into a ball with his tail between his legs, ready to take a nap. He closed his eyes and gave a soft smile.

"A brother must be an awesome thing to have" he thought to himself.

And with that, Marcus fell asleep on the soft forest grass during the beautiful spring day.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Fatherly Bond

Ucara was a very small city. It consisted only of some houses, a few apartments, the hospital, the local police and fire stations, the small airline factory, two local restaurants, a grocery store, a shopping center, a gymnasium, the tiny Ucara flight academy that was actually a one room building, the Ucara orphanage, the Ucara courthouse, and a hotel that was almost small enough to be considered a motel. There were only a few streets and sidewalks connecting the buildings, along with one large road leading back to the cities.

Fox and Leon walked down the streets of Ucara. Fox was still holding Leon's hand and the lupine still had no idea where he was being taken. Leon's expression was completely blank, while Fox's was one of…concern? Care? Affection? Leon honestly had no idea what his enemy was thinking, but he knew for a fact that the vulpine wasn't going to hurt him. Somehow, he knew, for the aura of peace was literally radiating from Fox's presence. Both parties were completely silent, and it wasn't until they reached the small hotel that Fox finally decided to speak.

"This will work," he said, "you can stay here for now."

Before Leon could get a word out, Fox was pulled into the hotel. After they got up to the counter, Fox spoke to the receptionist, asking for a room.

"How long?" the raccoon receptionist asked with a voice that indicated she had already said those words a hundred times.

"As long as needed" Fox replied.

The raccoon razed her eyebrow and looked at Fox. Most people who checked in to the hotel already had a date in mind, and this was the first time she ever heard this response, but the thought quickly passed without any real problems.

"It'll be thirty units a day." she told him.

"I'll pay for it." Fox answered.

With that, Fox gave her the money and the raccoon gave him a room key. Fox then took Leon's hand and led him to his room.

"But you'll be kicked out if you forget to pay one day." the raccoon yelled to Fox as he walked away.

When Fox arrived at the room, he unlocked the door and lead Leon inside.

It wasn't a very luxurious hotel to say the least, but it did provide an adequate living environment. There was a large, queen sized bed, a dresser, a small refrigerator, a bathroom with a shower, two green couch chairs on either side of the bed and a window that was right next to the chair on the side of the bed that was farther from the door. There was also a television sitting right on top of the dresser and an AC unit right underneath the window.

When they were both inside the room, Fox indicated for Leon to sit down. Leon obeyed and sat down on a couch chair, but his expression of bewilderment and confusion had changed to one of suspicion. He was rationing out the whole situation in the only way he knew how, and he had immediately began thinking that Fox's whole act of charity was really just part of a bigger and more amusing scheme to get him killed. Fox sat down on the bed across from him, and began to address Leon.

"What's do you go by kiddo?" Fox asked him with a small, yet warm smile.

The lupine hesitated at first, but then he finally spoke without looking at the vulpine.

"Leon," he said quietly, "my names Leon."

Fox nodded, and then he started again.

"Well Leon, I can't take you to my own house yet," Fox started, as if he was speaking to an old friend "for now you'll just have to stay here. I know it isn't much, but it's better than nothing, and you'll be a lot better off here than at the orphanage."

Leon flinched and he heard a silent alarm go off in his mind.

"How do you know where I live?" he said with a voice so quiet, Fox could only hear it because of his vulpine hearing.

Fox smiled like he was expecting that question.

"Because no parent has bothered to check up on you." he said, "Lupine parents would never let their children run off like that."

"Well what if I just have crappy parents?" Leon asked more loudly, a bit offended that he was being judged by the standards of his species.

Fox shook his head.

"No such thing." he answered, "There's no such thing as a 'crappy' lupine parent. They're way too strict in their culture with discipline and self-control. It's impossible for children to grow up and become bad parents. It just doesn't happen"

"Well what if it did!?" Leon said, now standing up and feeling the fire in his chest begin to rise again. That was twice the vulpine insulted him _and_ his race.

Fox looked up from the ground and stared at the lupine, questioning him.

"Did it?" Fox replied with, again, a calming tone, "Do you have parents? Are they in this town? On this planet?"

Leon felt his anger drop. Weather he liked it or not, this man was right. Somehow, he could read Leon like a book he had read more than once. Leon sat down once more, his fire dead, but his identity still insulted.

The last thing Fox would ever want to do would be to anger a lupine, but an even worse thing he could do would be making fun of his people.

Fox gave a soft chuckle and spoke.

"I'm not mocking or jeering at your people" he said "I just know how their culture works. They're very strict when it comes to raising children, and for good reason. It's bad for a lupine child to grow up without his kind."

Leon looked down at the ground. Weather he was ashamed or annoyed Fox couldn't tell, but judging by the child's lack of rebuke, Fox assumed it wasn't the latter.

Fox spoke, changing the subject to more important matters.

"You should probably stay here," he began, "For your own good, don't go out yet. I doubt the people have forgotten about the incident with the officer. I'll come here after work every day for two hours. I'll buy you some food. We can eat dinner together. I'll also buy you some new clothes. The ones you have on are extremely dirty and worn-out"

Leon still looked at the ground. Fox couldn't tell if he was okay with his little schedule or not, but seeing that the child was still not protesting, Fox had a feeling that the lupine was ok with it.

"I should probably head out" Fox said as he sat up from the bed and handed Leon a small piece of paper "Use the hotel phone and call this number if you need anything from me."

Fox was just about to reach the door when Leon once more broke from his silence.

"My father's Wolf O'Donnell" he said, with a grim tone.

Fox stopped, his back still facing Leon. Leon anticipated for Fox to turn around and attack him. He waited for his enemy to reveal his true nature. He _wanted_ Fox to attack, but instead, he gave Leon the most ridiculous response he could ever give.

"Yeah, I had a feeling" Fox said, his casual voice not changing at all.

Leon's eyes widened, his hands gripped the sides of his chair so hard it almost broke, and all at once Leon's anger, his rage, and his confusion seemed to burst.

"LIAR!" he screamed, standing up from his chair.

Leon's anger was no longer concealed to his chest and he felt like a flaming torch. All of his Lupine anger, all of his inherited, hot-blooded rage, all of his irrational hatred towards both his father and his father's enemy was unleashed.

"YOU'RE LYING!" Leon roared, "THERE'S NO WAY YOU COULD'VE KNOW THAT! IF YOU KNEW ALL THIS TIME, YOU WOULD HAVE KILLED ME OR LEFT ME WITH THE POLICE! I TRIED TO KILL YOU! I TRIED TO MURDER YOU! AND THIS IS WHAT YOU DO!? YOU HELP ME AND TREAT ME LIKE I'M YOUR FRIEND!? IS THIS SOME SICK WAY OF TORTURE!? THE ONLY REASON I WENT TO THE FACTORY WAS TO KILL YOU! ARE YOU AWARE OF THAT YOU STUPID, ORANGE FURRED PIECE OF VULPINE TRASH!?"

As soon as he was finished, Leon was breathing hard, sweating like a dog, barring his fangs, and starring with a murderous glare at the only man who had ever tried to help him, but in his outburst of crazy, bloodthirsty rage, Leon could see nothing but a sworn enemy.

Fox turned to look at Leon the same way he looked at his wife when he saw her anguish at the loss of her planet so many years ago. There was only pity in his eyes. Pity, and understanding. There was no anger, no hate, and no fear produced from the lupines roars of anger and insults.

"I'm aware" he said "I already said it. I _know_ you're angry. I understand you're mad. When you challenged me at the factory, I knew exactly who you were." here Fox smiled, but he looked like he was about to burst out in tears, "A son will do anything to impress his father."

Leon closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No no no, it's not like that!" Leon said with a crack in his voice and as if he was talking to himself.

As he sat back down, Leon put his hands on his head and closed his eyes as tight as he could like he was trying to block out the rest of the world.

"I don't care about him!" he said with a trembling voice "I don't give a damn about him! I'm doing this for my own sake! I'm doing this so I can become a villain on my own terms and without my father's brand!"

Tears began to flow from Leon's eyes, and for the first time, Fox saw the child that was buried so deeply inside the warrior's body.

Fox, tearing up, walked over to the child. At his own risk, he put a calming hand on the kids shoulder, but instead of attacking it, Leon merely grabbed Fox's arm and held it against his chest."

"It's going to be okay son." Fox choked out, feeling a ginormous lump in his throat.

Leon got up from his chair and hugged Fox without looking him in the eye, crying in his shoulder. Although he was bigger than most kids his age, Leon was still a few inches shorter than Fox.

Fox hugged Leon back, and put one of his hands behind the child's head, and something wonderful, something truly amazing happened to Leon in that moment. Leon's dream, his _true_ dream, the dream he had always had deep down in his heart had finally come true. Although it did not come true under the circumstances he was expecting, it was fulfilled nonetheless. For the first time in his life, Leon felt the fatherly affection he had always tried to earn.

For the first time in his life, Leon felt loved.

For about twenty minutes, Leon just hugged Fox, burying his face in his shoulder and crying. Leon cried so much, it was as if he had been holding back the tears his entire life. Fox held the sobbing kid in his arms, rubbing his back and reassuring him with words of comfort and peace. Leon finally stopped crying, and Fox could feel his body leaning heavily against his own. Leon, the same child who tried to kill Fox, had cried himself to sleep in Fox's arms. Fox lifted up the lupine's body and carried the sleeping child to his bed. He laid him down, pulling the covers over Leon's body to keep him warm.

"I'm going to take care of you kiddo." Fox said, adding a smile and putting a hand on the Lupine's head.

With those last words, Leon's savior turned off the light and left the room.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: A Wife's Advice

Fox spent the rest of the day shopping for Leon. Clothes, food, and toiletries were the main things on his list. He couldn't think of any toys or books the lupine might want, for he had never seen a lupine child playing with a toy or reading a book. In fact, the only thing Fox had ever seen a lupine child enjoy was fighting with other lupines or practicing by itself. Improvising, Fox decided to buy a couple of punching bags so the kid would have a way to blow off some steam.

While shopping, Fox got a call on his cellular watch. Looking at the name, he realized it was his boss back at the factory.

Feeling like a complete idiot for not telling his boss why he didn't come in for work, Fox closed his eyes and put his hand on his face before answering, but luckily his boss wasn't mad at all. Apparently one of the workers who saw the incident with the police officer and Fox offering to take care of the child informed Fox's manager of what had happened, and he went ahead and gave Fox the day off. Fox felt extremely relieved and thanked the manager for being so understanding of the situation.

After hanging up, Fox decided he had shopped enough for Leon. It was getting late, and he was already going to miss dinner. Without further delay, Fox began walking back to the hotel.

When he arrived, Fox quietly opened the door to Leon's room and stepped in. Seeing that the lupine was still in bed, he didn't turn on the light, wanting to avoid waking up the kid, and instead used the built in flashlight on his cellular watch. Using the small light as his guide, Fox went to work.

He began unpacking all of the groceries he had bought. He put food in the refrigerator, toiletries in the bathroom, and clothes in the dresser. Also, as quietly as he could, Fox hung up one of the punching bags right next to Leon's window, and testing to see if the kid would have room to practice with it. After getting everything set up, Fox began to leave the room.

Before he exited, Fox heard a voice speak quietly from the darkness.

"Mr. McCloud?" Leon said, with a half-awake voice.

Fox stopped and turned around to see Leon's eyes half open on the bed.

Fox walked over to Leon and got on his knees to get at eye level with him. He put a hand on the child's head, slowly rubbing his furry scalp and ears.

"Get some rest." Fox said with a whispering voice.

Leon closed his eyes and smiled

"Than' you for everythin'," he mumbled "'m sorry for tryin to kil' you."

Fox smiled, and kissed the child's forehead. Clearly Leon was sleep talking, but Fox replied anyway

"That's alright" Fox said, "and you're welcome. Now go back to sleep."

Fox got up from his knees and, once again, left Leon's room.

Fox leaned against the closed door and smiled to himself. He thought about all of the crazy things that had happened today. He met his old enemy's son, beat him in a duel, saved him from the police, brought him to a hotel, offered to meet him every day and held him while he cried himself to sleep. He bought him some proper living necessities and a few items that the child might be able to entertain himself with. Fox looked down at the floor closing his eyes.

"How to you get yourself into these sort of things, moron?" he whispered to himself

While standing in silence, Fox looked at his watch and realized his family was already eating dinner. He walked out of the hotel and headed back for his house.

About an hour later, Fox arrived at the doorstep of his house. He took a deep breath, wondering how he was going to explain the whole thing to Krystal.

When he opened his door and walked into his home, Fox could hear Krystal putting away the dishes of a recently eaten meal. He walked into the kitchen, and his wife smiled at him when she saw him.

Fox's wife was wearing a regular pink blouse along with a pair of skinny jeans. She was barefooted and was holding a towel in her hand, drying some dishes. Fox noticed how motherly she looked.

Fox smiled back and began walking over to Krystal, who had just postponed her cleaning and was now about to greet her husband.

The two fox's hugged each other and followed with a kiss and a nose rub, the proper greeting of mates in their species. Krystal rested her chin on her husband's shoulder and whispered into his ear.

"You're late," she started, "Marcus was wondering where his daddy was."

"Is he asleep?" Fox responded in a whispering voice, not wanting to disturb his son's slumber if he was indeed resting.

"Yes," Krystal answered, "exhausted from his telepathy. He was trying to find your mind with it. I told him you were just fine, but he insisted"

"He's just like his mother" Fox said, looking into his wife's eyes.

His smile disappeared

"So…do you know?" Fox asked his wife with an unsure voice.

Krystal nodded, still smiling.

"How long?" Fox asked.

"Since you met him at the factory this morning." She said.

"And…what do you think?" said Fox.

"We can talk about that later," his wife answered, letting go of Fox, "but for now, can you please help me with the dishes?"

Fox nodded, and began to help Krystal with her cleaning. There wasn't much of course, but two could still get the job done faster than one. After they finished cleaning, Fox and Krystal decided to head for bed. It was only 8:00, but both parents felt exhausted. Krystal was tired from keeping up with Fox's mind all day, while Fox was tired from walking all over Ucara shopping for Leon.

After entering their room, Krystal entered into the closet to change into some pajamas while Fox removed his uniform polo and climbed into bed, not bothering to take of his shorts. Krystal walked out of the closet in her purple pajamas and climbed into bed, resting the side of her head on her husband's white furred chest and looking into his green eyes with a smile. The two foxes starred at each other fondly.

"I think it's a wonderful idea." Krystal finally said.

Fox was honestly surprised. Knowing his wife's caring nature, he had a feeling she would be ok with the situation, but he wasn't expecting her to agree immediately.

"Really?" fox replied with excitement in his voice.

Krystal climbed up her husband's body until her face was right next to his own. She put her hand on his head, stroking his ear while Fox rested his own on Krystal's cheek, petting her soft, blue fur.

"I think you should do it," Krystal continued, "This kid could really use your help. I've looked into his head Fox." Here her smile faded away "He's been abused at the orphanage."

Fox closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, unfortunately that doesn't surprise me" he said and reopened his eyes, "they must know who his father is."

Krystal closed her eyes and nodded, looking a bit off-balanced

Fox then looked at his wife with an expression of uncertainty

"About his father…" Fox said

"It doesn't bother me" Krystal said, opening her eyes and smiling again, "really Fox, I think this is wonderful. Even if his father is your old enemy, that shouldn't keep you from helping him. It would be unreasonable to ignore him for such a reason."

"Shouldn't keep _us_ from helping him" Fox said smiling again, "I don't want to do this all on my own."

"You want to adopt him." Krystal blatantly said, closing her eyes once more and still smiling.

Fox stopped stroking his wife's fur. He turned his head and starred at the ceiling, thinking very deeply about the decision. He didn't know if he was ready to take care of a second child, but it was definitely a thought.

Krystal rested the side of her head right under Fox's chin, still smiling with her eyes closed.

"I can be a mother of two," she said, "and Marcus would absolutely love him."

Fox gave another chuckle, thinking about his son.

"Marcus would _adore_ him." Fox said, "He would love to have a brother, especially one like Leon."

Fox thought for a while in silence with his wife right next to him. Their minds were connected in moments like these, and it was as if they were having the same thoughts (but only in a sense. Krystal may be connected to Fox's mind, but that doesn't mean she literally alters his thought process).

Fox gave a soft sigh and finally spoke.

"It'll take a while to get all the legal documents signed," Fox began, "and I doubt the orphanage will have a problem letting him go." Fox thought some more, "I'll spend some more time with him until we can get all the official stuff over with."

Krystal gave a soft chuckle

"I thought we hated official stuff." She said

Fox couldn't help but chuckle as well at the truth of the statement. He then continued discussing his plans.

"I can eat dinner with him for the next two weeks." he said, "It'll probably take that much time to get all the papers signed."

"Marcus will miss you" Krystal said as if she was simply stating a fact.

"Nah, he'll be fine." Fox reassured Krystal, "The kid's pretty tough. He can make it a couple of weeks, just as long as he knows where I am."

"Will we tell him about Leon?" Krystal asked Fox with curiosity.

"That he may have a brother soon?" Fox responded, "Probably not a good idea. He would have a heart attack from excitement if we told him."

Krystal laughed, and then crawled on top of Fox, kissing her husband. She than looked into her Fox's eyes with a smile.

"He probably would." She said.

Fox smiled and put his arms around Krystal's waist. Krystal shifted to Fox's side, and the two snuggled closely to each other and fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: New Beginnings

Leon slept throughout the entire day and night, completely exhausted from his lack of sleep due to excitement and his great escape from the orphanage and police. When he woke up, he realized he was in the hotel and remembered that Fox had brought him there. He looked around to see if the orange vulpine was around.

With a large yawn, Leon decided it was time to get up, but before he stood up, Leon just sat on the side of his bed, pondering over what had happened to him the day before. Leon stared blankly at the hotel carpet.

Although he didn't really understand it, Leon was happy. He was content. He was at peace. Somehow, someway, and for whatever reason, the man who Leon thought was his enemy by destiny had instead become his helper, his provider, and his comforter. Although Leon hated to admit it, the comfort Fox had given him yesterday was more than anything that anyone had ever given to Leon in his entire life.

Despite all of these new and wonderful things he had, Leon couldn't help but feel a bit ashamed of himself. He had failed to beat his enemy, the only real goal he had ever thought about in his short little life. He had come under the shelter of another, something he had wanted to get out of in the orphanage. But most important and surprising of all, Leon began to feel that Fox, the man who become Leon's first and only friend, actually felt more like a fa-.

Leon quickly put a hand on his forehead and shook his head like he did the day before.

"No, it _isn't_ like that" Leon whispered to himself, trying to block out the thought.

No matter how many things Leon would admit, he would never dare come to that conclusion.

Leon stood up on his feet and began to realize how hungry he was. He had gone more than a day without eating any food. Although he knew it was unlikely that the hotel provided any free food, Leon decided to check the refrigerator anyway. When he walked over to it, he noticed a note was taped on the door.

"Eat as much as you like," it read, "there's plenty of food and I could always buy some more. I'll bring some dinner every night, so try not to spoil your appetite during the day. Sincerely, Mr. McCloud"

A huge smile formed across Leon's face when he opened the refrigerator door. There was a huge variety of snack food and drinks for the lupine to eat. He took several juice packets and snack bags containing a variety of junk food and veggies. When Leon closed the door, his arms were absolutely full with half of the refrigerator's inventory. Leon was still smiling like a little kid when he set the feast onto his bed (which is ironic, because he _is_ a child, even though he would not like to be considered one). Because his race was very athletic, they also had a very high metabolism, meaning they had to eat much more than the average person. Leon sat down on the bed and gorged himself like a starving man on Thanksgiving Day.

When Leon had eaten his fill, he laid down on his trash ridden bed with his arms spread apart and a satisfied look on his face. Quickly becoming bored, Leon looked around his room to find some form of entertainment and quickly spotted the large punching bag right next to the window. Examining the brightly colored object, Leon recognized that it had been stuck to the ceiling by his vulpine friend. With nothing else to do, Leon decided it would be a good idea to practice his fighting skills. Getting into a spot where he would have enough room to maneuver, Leon took his traditional duel stance and prepared his onslaught of attacks.

He took a deep breath, examining the bag like a person's body and determining where the weak points would be. Although one would look at the lupine's battle stance with a sense of exaggeration, the lupine really did take his practice seriously. After his last defeat, Leon decided he would need much, much, much more practice if he ever wanted to last in a world like his father's.

"I need to get stronger if I ever want to fight guys like Fox McCloud" Leon thought to himself.

With that last thought in his head, Leon began his vicious training.

After he got off of work, Fox went to the grocery store to find a nice meal for him and Leon to eat. Before he left his house, Krystal offered to cook something and bring it over, but Fox thought a store bought meal would be simpler for a first-night. Krystal agreed, but she playfully accused Fox that the real reason was because he didn't like her cooking. Fox blushed when his wife told him that, and immediately began to stammer, looking extremely nervous.

"No! I-it's not that at all!" Fox said loudly, "I-I love your cooking in all, it's just that-

"Honey," Krystal interrupted him while putting a hand on his face, "I'm pulling your leg."

Fox gave a huge sigh of relief.

"Jeez, I thought you were being serious. The _last_ thing I would want to do is call you're amazing recipes bad." Fox said.

"Thank you!" Krystal responded, kissing her husband goodbye.

Fox looked around the grocery store for something that both he and Leon could enjoy. Still going of what he knew from his experience with the lupine race, Fox bought a smaller sub-species of Cornarian black bird that was already pre-cooked. He knew lupines would eat just about anything, but was also aware that they had a particular craving for meat. Because the cooked-meal was already put in a sealed container, Fox wouldn't have to worry about reheating it.

After Fox purchased the meal, he walked out of the grocery store and headed for Leon's hotel. He wondered if the Lupine was still asleep. It was unlikely, for it was almost dinnertime and the child slept through almost the entire day yesterday. Fox anticipated the child to be awake, but he wondered what Leon had done all day. Fox began to worry. He just hoped Leon had taken his advice and stayed at the hotel.

When Fox arrived at the hotel, he walked up to Leon's room. When he arrived at the doorstep, Fox could hear some yelling followed by the noise of a punching bag being decimated. Fox sighed with relief and smiled, glad that Leon was still at the hotel. When he walked inside the room, he was presented with an interesting scene.

Trash littered the bed and the floor. There was stuffing everywhere from the first punching bag that Leon had destroyed, and the little warrior had already set up the other one and was currently clobbering it. Fox took notice of Leon's natural form and power. Of course, not to Fox's surprise, the child hadn't bothered to change his clothes. The only thing that looked different about Leon was the fact that the child had removed his shirt, revealing the white oval of fur that stretched down his torso. Like any lupine, the child's muscle structure was unnaturally large for his age, and the only factor that made him look different from any other member of his species was the color of his fur.

After finishing a series of attacks, Leon finished his opponent by using both of his claws to cut the punching bag nearly in half, followed by a jump kick that actually unglued the bag from the ceiling. After he was done, Leon stood up panting, sweat dripping from his forehead. When Leon turned and saw Fox, he looked both surprised and embarrassed, not even hearing the vulpine walk in.

"Mr. McCloud!" Leon said, taken of guard, "I-I didn't realize you had walked in." he stammered as he began picking up the mess he made.

Fox smiled as he sat down the dinner and began helping Leon clean up.

"Well, it looks like I bought you the right toys!" he exclaimed with a laugh.

Leon took notice of Fox's assistance.

"You don't have to help me sir," Leon stated, "I can clean this myself, really."

Fox smiled. He knew why Leon offered to clean up his own mess. It was not because he was being particularly polite, but because of his lupine pride. The race loved doing things on their own and disliked getting assistance from others.

"It's alright." Fox said, "In fact, you can go ahead and shower and get dressed, I'll take care of this mess and get dinner set up, alright?"

Leon hesitated at first, but then nodded. Fox was surprised about how easily he agreed, but then remembered the kid had been exercising all day and probably wanted a shower more than anything else.

As Leon was getting ready, Fox decided to prepare their meal. He set up a tiny, four legged table he found folded up behind the microwave that came with the hotel room. Placing it in the area where the punching bag had been, Fox also put the two green couch chairs on either side of the table. He got two plates that also came with the room and set them on the table along with two cans of pop from the nearly empty refrigerator. He put the cooked black bird on the center of the table and waited for Leon before unsealing it.

When Leon was finally ready, he sat down at the table. He was wearing a plain white tee-shirt and a pair of green shorts, while Fox was still wearing his work uniform. After Fox said a small prayer to the supreme creator, he divided the meal between the two, giving Leon a much larger portion. Without further ceremony, the two began their first meal together.

For a while, there was an awkward silence, with both parties not knowing what to say or how to say it. Fox decided to start, relating the conversation to ordinary matters instead of being inquisitive about Leon's past.

"You're fighting skill is incredible," fox began "I've never seen someone of your age with such technique and determination."

"But I lost to you." Leon said flatly.

Fox shook his head, closed his eyed and smiled.

"Son, if you think you can beat veterans at your age, you've got a long road ahead of you." He wanted to be kind with Leon, but he knew the warrior child wouldn't want to be pampered, just like his own son.

"True skill and strength comes with lots and lots of practice and experience, as I'm sure you're already aware," Fox continued, as if he was Leon's sensei, "You just need to get older, that's all."

Leon didn't respond, but gave a small nod without changing his blank expression.

Fox decided to change the subject, deciding to learn more about Leon.

"How do you know so much about your race?" he said, "If you grew up in the orphanage, how do you know what their culture is like? You don't follow all of their rules, but you seem to have a good understanding of your warrior heritage."

"I learned a little about them at the orphanage school house." Leon answered. "At least, just a little. The orphanage always talked about how xenophobic and puritanical they are. I also learned about how they're a warrior race. After that, I looked into a few library books that discussed their abnormal fighting styles, but most of them just ranted on about the race's lack of development and civilization.

"Well it sounds like those are some unreliable sources." Fox began, "Their definitely strict and pretty secluded, but that's only because of their unique abilities. Most of the ones I've met have been civilized and very developed. War's something they just have a hard time avoiding due to the number of enemies who have plagued them because of their unique abilities."

"I wasn't really bothered by them," Leon stated as if to show Fox that his affirmation wasn't necessary, "It was just the warrior part I took an interest in, and the only thing I got out of it. The last book I read about my race was over three years ago."

Fox nodded, and decided to talk about something else.

"You basically cleaned out the refrigerator." Fox said with a smile, "You must have been pretty hungry. I'll restock it for you tomorrow and by you a few more punching bags."

"Why are you helping me?" Leon finally asked.

Fox's smile disappeared and he starred out the window.

"I just wanted to help you." He said with a shrug, "You were in need, so I helped."

"But I tried to kill you." Leon deadpanned him.

Fox smiled and then looked back at Leon, who had a look of both suspicion and curiosity.

"Well it wouldn't be the first time someone's tried." Fox began still smiling, "Besides, you were just angry. It happens. You were following your instincts really. You saw me as your enemy and attacked."

Leon looked down, feeling a bit offended that Fox had told him he was "following his instincts", but Leon had to admit it was true. It was stupid. He was stupid. The whole thing, the whole fantasy Leon now understood, was absolutely stupid. His ears dropped as he thought about the whole scenario that unfolded due to his reckless action.

Fox spoke once more.

"Well, at any rate, I think I could help you with your training." He said.

Leon's ears perked up at the statement. His eyes widened as he looked at Fox, who smiled back at him.

"Really?" Leon said with excitement in his voice and his tail starting to wag. He never _ever_ thought he would be trained by his father's enemy, but seeing how strong he was in their last duel, he knew this would be a good man to get some training from.

"Of course," Fox replied, "You love to fight after all. I can spend one hour with you teaching you a special move or going over some basics. I can't do it tonight though. It's getting late, and I have to head back."

When the two got up from the table, Fox offered Leon his hand and Leon firmly shook it.

"Thank you Mr. McCloud!" he said, his face like a happy child who just got a birthday present.

Fox smiled back

"You're welcome Leon. I'll see you tomorrow."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Growing Process

Over the next several days, Fox met Leon every day for two hours. The two would chat about life and Fox would ask Leon questions about himself. What his hobbies were. What he liked to eat. What he liked to read. Fox didn't even mention Leon's father, but instead he made the conversations focus on Leon's own life. However, an interesting conversation started after Fox asked what Leon wanted to be when he grew up.

"An Arwing pilot," Leon responded without hesitation, "and I don't care who I work for. Getting out of this town and into space is a dream I've had since I was five. It never really went anywhere though. I never thought I would even get a remote chance to be a pilot."

Fox smiled. He wasn't surprised in the least. It was one more thing that made him so much like his biological father.

"What is he like?" Leon asked, quickly changing the topic.

At first Fox was confused with the question, but then he quickly figured out who Leon was talking about.

Fox shrugged and answered

"It's hard for me to say really," he began, "brave, determined, and unshakeable. He was a villain alright, a pirate, but there was just something about his spirit that made him very…honorable."

"Do you hate him?" Leon bluntly asked.

Fox shook his head.

"I couldn't even if I tried. Oh, don't get me wrong, he was still annoying, and fighting him was sometimes extremely frustrating. We were very competitive. But hating him? There's just not much to hate. He's made some poor decisions in his life don't get me wrong, but how could I judge? He grew up in a war ridden world were victory was sometimes seen as the only virtue. He didn't exactly have a 'peaceful environment'."

Fox finished and Leon asked the final and ultimate question.

"I'm just like him aren't I?" He asked, adding a grim tone to his voice.

Fox looked into Leon's eyes and smiled. He could tell the child was looking to see if Fox would lie. Fox knew he had to tell Leon the truth no matter what, because the truth was the exact thing Leon was so concerned about.

"You got his courage and determination kid, I'll give you that. As for character traits," here Fox gave Leon a piercing stare, "that's up to you. The choices you make are not predetermined by someone else's crappy decisions, no matter what."

Leon was taken aback by Fox's response. He had never actually thought about that before. He had always thought he would just be a villain by default, but here this man was telling him that it was up to his own decision.

Feeling uncomfortable, Leon wanted to end the conversation and get on to training.

The training sessions that Fox and Leon had were pretty simplistic. It involved Fox teaching Leon a new and basic move every day, along with a daily routine of concentration, patience, and self-control. Leon loved every second of it and drunk in Fox's words like a man in the desert would drink from a glistering oasis. It was truly a therapeutic experience for Leon and it seemed to help the child's wild emotions. Before he met Fox, Leon never had any real training and was always using his own natural instincts. Although he managed to come up with a couple of effective moves, everything he had was custom made and generic. Thanks to Fox, Leon was finally getting some real practice.

However it was on this day, the seventh day that Fox and Leon had known each other that Fox finally decided to reveal his plan to Leon. It was during dinner time while Fox and Leon were sitting in silence that Fox finally decided to tell Leon about his plan to officially make him a part of his own family.

"Leon," Fox began, "there's something that I need to tell you."

Leon looked at Fox with curiosity. The man looked a bit nervous, almost like he was afraid of telling Leon some bad news.

"What is it?" Leon asked with a curios tone.

Fox closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Leon began to feel butterflies in his stomach. He was wondering if Fox was about to tell him that he couldn't take care of him anymore. He was afraid that the man would say that his duty was done and that Leon no longer needed help. The thought terrified Leon. The last thing he wanted was for this man to leave. Leon didn't want to be alone again. However, the words that Fox spoke were completely opposite to what Leon was thinking.

"How would you like to become part of my family?" Fox said, sounding like he had to force every word out due to his nervousness.

Leon just stared at Fox, stupefied.

When Fox opened his eyes, he couldn't tell what Leon thought of the plan

"What do you mean?" Leon said with a confused voice.

Fox smiled nervously. He could tell Leon was completely surprised.

"What I mean is, do you want to come live with me? I checked your list back at the orphanage. Everybody on it is up for adoption, including you. I can legally adopt you into my family. Are you…are you okay with that?" Fox asked with an unsure tone.

Leon's eyes widened larger than Fox had ever seen them. He was afraid the child would start screaming in anger again, but instead he just looked down at his empty plate. Fox couldn't tell what the child was thinking. He waited patiently for Leon's reply.

Leon didn't know what to say.

"Join his family?" Leon thought to himself, "How? How could I? I promised that I would never call this man my father, or anyone my father for that matter."

Leon eyes dropped.

"And yet," he thought to himself, "and yet I don't want to be alone. This man has given me so much. I doubt he realizes how much he's helped me. But now he wants to adopt me? Its more than just help it's…it's…"

Leon felt his ears drop. He could feel those same butterflies begin to form in his stomach, only this time, it was from his joy that he was struggling to conceal. His joy from his sudden revelation.

"It's love." Leon thought to himself, feeling tears begin to well up in his eyes, tears he was trying so hard to conceal, "This vulpine, this man I tried to kill out of anger, loves me."

Leon was struggling so hard not to cry. He was greatly embarrassed by his own tears.

Fox walked over to Leon, realizing the child was whimpering. He put a hand on the lupine's shoulder, just like the first time the two met each other.

"Leon," Fox said with concern in his voice, "hey, are you alright kiddo?"

Leon nodded, not looking Fox in the eye.

Fox smiled, softly rubbing the child's shoulder. He could tell the kid was embarrassed by his own tears, just like his own son usually was.

"Mr. McCloud," Leon choked out, looking up at the vulpine with red, watery eyes, "I don't want to be alone."

Fox smiled and began scratching behind the lupines ear. Leon smiled and closed his eyes, feeling even more embarrassed.

"You don't have to be." Fox said softly.

Without standing, Leon hugged Fox, burying his face in the man's shirt and softly cried. Fox put a hand behind the child's back and used the other one to scratch his ear. It was almost exactly like their first day together only this time, it was much more genuine and not caused primarily by an emotional breakdown.

Fox closed his eyes and gave a soft sigh of relief.

Leon had given him his answer.

That same night, Fox told Krystal about what happened. She gave a heavy sigh of relief just like the one Fox had, and hugged her husband.

"That's wonderful!" she said with excitement, looking at her husband with a large smile, "We'll have another son Foxy!"

Fox smiled and kissed his wife. It was so odd to think about having another child around. Fox had only known Leon for a week but it felt like he had known the kid for a lot longer.

Over the next seven days, both Krystal and Fox went through the excruciating process of trying to adopt Leon. Necessity lists were made, legal documents were signed, and both of the parents even had a conversation with the head of the orphanage, who was more than happy to let go of Leon.

"Good luck with him," the hare said with a scoffing tone, "I can't imagine why anyone would want that crazy lupine."

Krystal began to feel her blood boil when the hare said that. She had already glanced into this man's head (it wasn't hard, due to how empty it was) and saw what he had done to Leon. Verbal and physical abuse due to Leon's own bad blood. Although she had met plenty of people like this in her life, there was never a time when she didn't get angry with some bloat-head who thought he could do whatever he wanted to others. Especially children.

Krystal was about to speak up until fox grabbed her hand. She looked at her husband, who smiled softly with a soft shake of his head, telling her it wasn't worth it. Fox had known his wife a long time, and thanks to her empathetic powers, the two could feel each other's emotions at almost any time when they were strong enough. Fox could relate to her burning anger, but also knew that it would just be better not to cause any trouble.

Krystal slowly calmed down and Fox could feel her anger drop. She closed her eyes and gave a soft nod, realizing the argument would be meaningless.

"Thank you for everything." Fox said to the hare before leaving with Krystal.

When Fox finally got the last paper signed, he was inside the court room with Leon. The judge gave them the legal papers, and Leon was officially made Fox's son. When the two walked out of the small courthouse, Leon smiled at his new father.

Of course, Leon would not _call_ Fox his father and still refrained to him as Mr. McCloud. Whether or not he saw Fox as his father was unknown to Fox, but he could see that the child was happy, and didn't care what else he thought.

"Where do you live?" Leon curiously asked Fox.

Fox looked at the lupine. He noticed how flippant and happy the child looked with his beaming smile. It was so odd to think that this kid was really the son of his archenemy. Sometimes he seemed like a miniature version of Wolf, but it was times like now that he really did look like and behave like any other child.

Fox smiled back at Leon.

"Follow me." he said, and the two headed back to Fox's house.

While the two walked, Leon noticed how much the surroundings had changed. There were no longer any streets or visible buildings and both he and his vulpine companion were walking on a dirt trail through the forest. After about ten minutes, Fox and Leon walked into a large clearing of forest. There was a large circle of long grass covering about three acres of land and, at the center of it, Leon could see a small house, which he assumed was Fox's home. Leon stopped and crossed his arms and struck a smug smile at Fox, who also stopped.

"I was expecting it to be a hole." Leon said to Fox with a sarcastic tone.

"Oh, because foxes live in holes?" Fox said back with a chuckle, catching Leon's joke.

"Of course! It's safer after all. Your species is _quite_ vulnerable." Leon said, still joking around with the vulpine.

Fox closed his eyes and shook his head, still smiling.

"You can say that _after_ you win against me son, not before." Fox deadpanned.

Leon's sassy smile disappeared and his ears dropped.

"Oh yeah…good point." He almost whispered, his pride destroyed.

Fox laughed

"C'mon warrior," he said, "It's time to meet the rest of the family."

Leon's smile returned and he nodded and the two resumed their journey.

When Fox reached his house, he led Leon inside. Krystal was waiting for them both in the kitchen, sensing her husband's and Leon's psychic presence. When Krystal saw Leon, she gave him a warm smile and offered him her hand. Leon half-smiled back and awkwardly shook it.

"Mrs. McCloud I'm guessing." He said with a sophisticated voice.

Krystal still smiled and nodded, not at all offended that he didn't refer to her as mom.

"You must be Leon," she said, "it's nice to finally meet you. My husband has been speaking a lot about you." She spoke to him like an adult.

"Yeah well, the guy sure talks a lot." Leon said with a comical smile.

Krystal smiled and closed her eyes, softly chuckling and nodding in agreement.

Fox blushed a little, scratching the back of his head and looking embarrassed.

"Hey uh, Krystal? Where's Marcus at? I wanted to introduce Leon to him." Fox said, trying to change the subject.

"He's in the forest." Krystal responded.

Fox nodded and grabbed Leon's hand, guiding him to the door.

"C'mon" he said, "Let me introduce you to my son."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Two Son's Meet

"Your son?" Leon asked Fox while he guided him through the forest.

"Yes." Fox began, "He's eight years old now. My wife home schools him. He likes to spend all of his free time in the forest playing by himself."

"Without anyone else around?" Leon questioned Fox, "Isn't that dangerous? He's only eight years old."

Fox shook his head.

"There's nothing dangerous out here in the forest, and my wife will know if he wanders off too far."

Leon looked confused.

"But how does she-

He was interrupted by the sound of a high-pitched, little kid's voice.

"Heeeeey! Daaaaad!" the voice yelled.

Leon turned to see where it was coming from, and out in a small forest clearing he could see a little blue furred vulpine waving both of his hands. The kid looked to be about almost a foot shorter than Leon. There was a long strip of white fur running down the center of his head just like the one both Fox and Leon had, but this one seemed to bush out into a thick cloud of fur when it reached the kids uni-brow, creating the shape of a thick, white hook. The kid was wearing a huge grin when he ran over to Fox and jumped on his father, wrapping his hands around his neck and hugging him.

"I sensed you were coming!" he started, "Oh, oh, oh can I show you something cool daddy? Can I, can I can I? Pleeeeease?"

Leon was immediately annoyed by the small kid and his high-pitched voice.

Fox laughed and grabbed his son, setting him down.

"Maybe later kiddo." Fox said, making his son look down in disappointment.

Fox smiled at the little pup and then introduced him to Leon.

"Marcus," he started, "I want you to meet Leon. He's your bro-

Fox quickly caught his tongue.

"He'll be staying with us from now on, and I want you two to get along, ok?"

Marcus's previous enthusiasm quickly returned, and he offered Leon his hand with another huge smile, showing all of his teeth and closing his eyes. Leon hesitantly shook it.

"Hi, I'm Marcus!" the kid said, still with that high-pitched voice.

Leon looked at Fox with a look of loathing, and Fox tried his absolute hardest not to laugh at the lupine's expression of annoyance.

He knew these two were great for each other.

"Listen you two," Fox started, "I have to head back. Marcus, make sure you lead Leon back with you before dinner time, ok?

"Ok!" Marcus answered.

"Wait a minute, when's dinner time?" Leon asked, wondering how much time of torture he would have to endure with this kid.

"About four hours." Fox plainly said.

"Are you serious?" Leon said with an unbelieving tone, "Why can't we-

But before he could finish, Fox had already said goodbye and left, leaving Leon alone with Marcus.

Leon starred at Marcus with a look of agitation, but the pup just smiled at him with his eyes closed, which Leon had decided was his trademark smile.

"Oh wait a minute!" Marcus said, "I can still show you! Watch this!"

Before Leon could get a word of protest in, Marcus had already got on the ground on all fours and climbed up a tree with lighting speed. The whole process took about three seconds, and before Leon could comprehend what he was seeing, Marcus was already swinging from his legs on a branch high up in the tree, looking down at Leon.

"Cool, huh?" Marcus said, smiling down at Leon.

Leon just starred at Marcus. He had to admit that the kids lighting speed was impressive, but everything else about the process was uninteresting. Leon crossed his arms and looked up at Marcus, unimpressed.

"What's so cool about that?" he said with an agitated tone.

Marcus just shrugged.

"I dunno, I just think it's cool." He said plainly.

"It's not cool at all, it's stupid!" Leon said, feeling more agitated, "You climbed up a tree. Woopty freaking doo! What's so cool about that?"

"Shut up, it's cool!" Marcus shouted down at him.

He then flashed a smile with his eyes closed again.

"I bet your saying that because you can't do it!" he said flippantly.

Leon frowned and half smiled at Leon, still crossing his arms.

"Can't do it?" he started, "Your right, I don't need to climb the tree at all! I can easily jump on one of the branches from the ground here."

Marcus's smile went away and his expression was replaced with one of surprise, but then he laughed.

"You're lying!" he said, sticking his tongue out at Leon.

Leon frowned at Marcus.

"Really?" he said, "Watch this!"

Getting on all fours, Leon pounced up into the air and landed on a tree branch just opposite to Marcus, twelve feet in the air. Marcus gapped at him in amazement and Leon smiled with pride. But instead of moping with shame like Leon expected him to do, Marcus smiled at Leon with his mouth wide open.

"Awesome!" Marcus said, "How did you do that!?"

Leon was disappointed, seeing that he had just accidentally entertained this annoying vulpine. He didn't answer Marcus, but dropped from the tree branch and landed on all fours. Marcus followed, and the two stood up.

Marcus put his hand under his chin and starred at Leon, almost like he was thinking of some way to impress the lupine. A lightbulb seemed to turn on in his head and Marcus began talking with excitement once more.

"Oh, I know!" he started, "Think of any number, and I'll guess it."

Leon crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow, looking at Marcus with doubt.

" _Any_ number?" Leon asked.

Marcus nodded, still smiling.

Leon huffed.

"Right, whatever. Ok I got a number." He said, amused by Marcus's ridiculous claim.

"Okay, now hold it there!" Marcus said looking excited.

With Leon watching, Marcus placed his right index and middle finger on his forehead and closed his eyes. Leon's smile disappeared and now he wore a confused expression, wondering what on earth Marcus was doing.

"Ok it's ummm…" Marcus said, looking like he was concentrating really hard but then he opened his eyes with a smile and spoke, "217,438,526! Wow, good one!"

Leon's eyes widened and Marcus flashed a smile at him.

Leon's expression of shock quickly changed back into one of doubt. He smiled and huffed at Marcus

"It's just a stupid trick." He said

Marcus's smile disappeared and was replaced with a face of aggravation.

"It's not a trick!" he almost yelled, "I'm a telepath, I can read your mind!"

Leon wasn't buying it.

"Oh come on, that's so dumb. There's no way _you_ of all people are a telepath. It's a magic trick." Leon said, still doubting.

Marcus missed the insult and continued talking.

"Ok, well think about something else!" Marcus said, changing his strategy, "What's your future dream job?"

"No, this is stupid." Leon said.

"Oh come on," Marcus said, "please? Let me prove it to you!"

Leon sighed and looked down at Marcus.

"Alright, do your little magic." Leon said.

"It's not magic!" Marcus yelled.

"Fine! Who cares?! Just do it already!" Leon yelled back, getting extremely aggravated.

Marcus smiled, and put his middle and index finger on his forehead and closed his eyes just like before. They opened soon, and Marcus had a surprised and excited grin on his face.

"Wow!" he said, "You want to be an Arwing pilot too? That's so cool!"

Leon's eyes widened again and he began to feel nervous. He had a feeling the kid was telling the truth about his power.

"Wait a minute," Leon started, a bit panicked, "you mean you can read _any_ of my thoughts? My memories?"

"Well yeah, but some are harder to find then others." Marcus said while scratching the back of his head.

"Have you read anything else in my head!?" Leon yelled, feeling his temper begin to rise. There was so much stuff he wanted to keep secret from others. Too much stuff. Too much for an over-hyped kid to contain.

Marcus didn't flinch at Leon's sudden anger and gave another smile.

"Nope, my mom says I should only read someone else's mind if they want me to."

"And you're telling the truth?" Leon said, piercing into Marcus's eyes with a death stare.

Marcus nodded, still smiling,

"I don't like lying." he said.

Leon closed his eyes and sighed heavily with relief, putting a hand on his fore head. He didn't know if the kid was telling the truth, but he had a feeling the vulpine didn't know about his real father.

"Are you scared of me?" Marcus said with a genuine voice.

Leon opened his eyes and starred at the blue-furred vulpine who was still smiling, even with that last question. Leon glared at him. He wasn't scared of him at all. He wasn't scared of anything. He wondered if this kid knew the difference between being scarred and being annoyed.

"Why the heck would I be scarred of you?" Leon said, crossing his arms and wearing a prideful smile, "You're just a little kid with a weird mind power. Not exactly _intimidating._ "

"Then let's fight!" Marcus said, clapping his hands together.

Leon's smile quickly disappeared and he starred at Marcus, completely baffled by what the vulpine had just said. Why the vulpine wanted to fight him, Leon didn't know and didn't exactly care, for he would fight anyone who really wanted to. But what shocked Leon so much was the fact that Marcus was only eight years old and was a full foot shorter than himself, not to mention the fact that Marcus was just a regular vulpine while he was part of a warrior species. Why the kid had even the _slightest_ idea that he could win against a lupine three years older than himself completely shocked Leon.

Leon burst out laughing.

"Is this a joke," he said recollecting himself, "or are you really just a complete idiot?"

Marcus was frowning. He could tell Leon wasn't taking him in the least bit seriously.

"I'm not joking." he said, "Let's fight!"

Leon stopped laughing and starred at Marcus, who was still frowning at him. An idea began to form inside Leon's head. He knew he couldn't beat Fox, that was a fact, but his _son_ was a different story. Although Leon didn't feel obliged to some fake destiny anymore, he still wanted to get stronger. If he fought the son of the man he had lost against and beat him, maybe he could have a good idea about where he would be in the future.

"Okay, you have a deal." Leon said with an almost evil smile. He was completely confident that he could mop the floor with this kid.

"Alright!" Marcus said, sounding really pumped up, "Here are the rules. The first one to get knocked out of this small forest clearing losses."

Leon looked around. The forest clearing did make a perfect arena. There were no big rocks or even tree stumps that could get in their way, and it formed an almost perfect circle. Leon saw no reason to object to the battle rules, and agreed to the fight.

"We'll start out on opposite sides of the circle, ok?" Marcus said, looking extremely pumped.

"Fine, but I go on my own accord. I don't want some countdown." Leon said.

"Sure! See you at the middle!" Marcus said. And with that, he ran to the other side of the arena.

When he reached the other side, Leon could see Marcus get into his fighting position. Leon noticed that it was the same one that Fox had used on their first encounter. Leon smiled, and crouched down into his own duel stance. The two stood in their positions for about three minutes, both of them waiting for the other one to make his move.

"Now," Leon thought to himself, "I can really win."

After what seemed like an eternity, Leon began his attack and started running at Marcus. Marcus seemed to almost disappear, and before Leon knew it, the vulpine delivered a swift kick to the side of his head, knocking Leon entirely of balance and making him trip uncomfortably close to the edge of the grassy arena. Leon quickly got back on his feet and began running to the center, keeping himself away from the edge of defeat. Before he got there, Marcus reappeared right in front of Leon, unleashing a barrage of uncannily fast punches and kicks on the lupine, forcing him to go entirely on the defensive.

Leon was absolutely shocked. He knew the vulpine was fast, seeing him climb up the tree with exceptional speed, but this was entirely different. The vulpine must have been going at least twice as fast, and Leon realized that he was barely even trying last time. However, all though he was caught completely off guard, Leon began regaining himself, and realized that although Marcus's attacks included speed, they lacked strength or any real form. While blocking Marcus's attacks, Leon managed to deliver a counter blow, crouching low to the ground and delivering an elbow right at the vulpine's chest, forcing him to block the attack and quickly disengage.

Marcus and Leon where about ten feet away from each other, right outside the arenas center. Marcus was smiling, looking like he was having the time of his life, while Leon was snarling, angrier at himself that he had let his guard down then at the vulpine he was fighting. Leon got back into his duel stance, but Marcus did something entirely different. Instead of getting back into his fighting position, he just put his arms on his hips and laughed.

Although Marcus was probably just laughing out of fun, Leon took it as a taunt. Leon's eyes widened and all of his fangs showed, and he felt like he could breathe fire out of rage.

"You little…!" Leon started, but then ran at Marcus, not bothering to finish his insult.

In his rage, Leon didn't notice Marcus closing his eyes and putting his right index and middle finger on his forehead. Marcus smiled, knowing he now had a perfect opportunity to show off his moves.

When he was halfway to Marcus, Leon all of a sudden received a huge headache. He stumbled trying to remain balanced and completely lost focus of the fight. The next thing Leon felt was an elbow being driven extremely hard into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him, followed by a jump kick that gave him a black eye. Leon screamed in agony and rage, and before the vulpine could get away again, Leon drove his claw across Marcus's chest when he landed on the ground.

"Yeeeeooow!" Marcus screamed, not expecting his opponent to have the strength to deliver such an attack after receiving two strong blows.

Leon grabbed Marcus's arm and, using what air was left in his lungs to form a mighty roar, threw Marcus in an attempt to get the vulpine out of bounds. The vulpine bounced twice across the grass and rolled right to the edge of the arena, not quite knocking him out of the fight.

Marcus slowly got back on his feet, tending to his minor lacerations. Leon got down on his knees and held his stomach, trying to regain his breath. His left eye was hurt as well, and when Leon felt it, he could tell it was swollen. Leon snarled at Marcus who was still tending to his wounds. The cut wasn't nearly as deep as Leon was hoping for.

"Ow, ow, owwww." Marcus said as he held his chest, "Man, can you get your nails cut!?" he yelled at Leon, still with a high pitched voice. Leon could tell he was unwavering.

Both of the fighters were covered in grass, dirt and bruises now. Marcus had a laceration while Leon had a black eye. It was still anyone's victory. Leon quite snarling, realizing he was losing his temper again, something Fox had taught him specifically not to do while training. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and then opened them again, glaring at Marcus.

"What the heck was that!?" Leon said with anger, "That was bull crap! I got a headache all of a sudden!"

"Told you! Ow." Marcus yelled, still holding his wound, "I'm a telepath! Ow. I gave you a headache- ow! You really need a manicure or something. This hurts!"

Leon snarled at him.

"Says the guy who uses cheap telepath tricks to give himself an advantage!" Leon yelled.

Marcus just closed his eyes and smiled.

"Well, it wasn't forbidden in the rules was it?" he said.

"Neither were claws, so stop whining!" Leon yelled back at him.

"I'm not whining!" Marcus whined, "Now let's go!"

Marcus got back into his position, still holding his wound. Leon struggled to get into his own, tending to his eye and bruises from Marcus's barrage of fast attacks.

Leon ran full speed at Marcus, who was about to do another telepathic attack, but Leon knew it wouldn't work this time. Marcus tried to concentrate, but found his wound to be a problem, and before he knew it, Leon had a death grip around Marcus's wrist. This time Leon put much more strength into his throw, using both arms to spin Marcus around in a circle before releasing him to the boundary line of the arena. This time, Marcus went right over the line and into the forest, landing flat on his back across the grass and giving Leon the victory.

"I win." Leon said loudly after sitting down, gasping for air. He hadn't quite regained all of his breath from Marcus's last attack and used what air he did recover to barely win the battle.

As Marcus struggled to sit up, Leon could hear the little pup making soft, inaudible noises. Leon smiled, believing Marcus was crying like a little baby after losing the fight, but instead Marcus started to burst out laughing, and Leon realized that the noises he was making earlier were actually giggles.

Marcus couldn't stop laughing, and Leon started to get annoyed with it.

"What are you laughing for?" he said loudly, too tired to actually scream, "Aren't you aware you just lost?"

Marcus finally stopped and smiled at Leon with his eyes closed.

"You're so strong." he started, opening his eyes "I know! Why don't we do this every day?"

Marcus looked like he was completely unbothered by his wound or even his defeat. The entire time, Leon was fighting to win and beating Marcus was his only objective. However, Leon began to wonder if Marcus was fighting simply because he wanted to fight. Leon enjoyed it too, but winning was more important than having fun. But Leon noticed two very important facts about Marcus. He was extremely tough, and he was a really good sparring partner. Leon had to admit on the inside that it was a close fight, but that didn't keep him from mocking Marcus.

"Why would you want that," Leon started, wearing a prideful smile, "you'll lose every single time, unless you _like_ getting clobbered."

"Shut up!" Marcus yelled back, "It was close, and I never said I like losing! I'm way faster than you and I have telepathic powers! Look at your eye!"

"Whatever," Leon said, still with a smug look, "you have a telepathy trick and you're fast, but I'm way stronger. That claw mark could've gone a lot deeper you know."

The two kids stood up and continued to fight with words for about two hours, insulting each other's skills, character, and species. Finally they both gave up and sat down. Leon decided that he could say at least one nice thing about Marcus.

"You're the strongest kid I've ever fought." he said, giving Marcus a half smile.

Leon noticed that Marcus actually blushed a little at the compliment and gave a huge smile, looking down at the ground with his eyes tightly closed. Both of them stood up and Leon spoke.

"We can come out here to fight every day." he said, "Maybe three fights just like the last one along with some training will work."

"Okay!" Marcus said, quickly agreeing to the plan and walking over to Leon, offering the lupine his hand. Leon shook it and smiled at Marcus.

"Now let's go back!" Marcus said, "Dinner starts in thirty minutes. I'm getting hungry!"

"Wait a minute." Leon said, grabbing Marcus's shoulder as he began walking back. Marcus stared at Leon with a confused expression.

"What's wrong?" Marcus questioned.

"Look at us." Leon answered, "How often do you go back looking this beat up? We're both badly bruised, not to mention my black eye and your cut."

"Oh…" Marcus said with a quiet voice, "Yeah, my parents aren't going to be happy. I never go back looking this bad."

"Exactly," Leon started, "we need to come up with an alibi."

Marcus was completely dumbfounded.

"Ali-what?" he said, looking at Leon as if he had just spoken another language.

Leon put both of his paws on his face and sighed heavily. He still didn't know why this kid was a telepath when he was as dumb as a sack of nails.

"It's like a fake story." Leon started, removing his paws from his face, "If we go back and tell your parents we were fighting, they'll never let us do it again, but if we come up with a fake story, we might be able to keep doing it."

"No way!" Marcus said, looking at Leon like he had just planned a murder, "I don't wanna lie! Lying's wrong!"

"Listen you-!

Leon quickly calmed down. He knew Marcus was a little kid, but he didn't see why he couldn't just rationalize the situation.

"Listen," he said much more calmly, "if we don't lie, we'll never be able to fight again. Don't you wanna practice with me?"

Marcus looked at the ground and nodded, half agreeing to the plan.

"Okay," Marcus said, "but I don't think it will work"

"It will work." Leon said, "Now here's what I was thinking. We could say we got attacked by an animal."

"But, there aren't any dangerous animals out here." Marcus responded

Leon sighed and looked at the ground with his hands on his hips and his eyes closed, pondering on a new plan. His eyes opened and a smile appeared on his face.

"I got it!" he said, "We can say we fell out of a tree we were climbing!"

"But how does that make since?" Marcus asked, "You have a black eye and I have a scratch mark on my chest!"

"Easy!" Leon answered, "You cut your chest on some branches, and I hit my eye on a rock when I landed on the ground. It's totally fool proof!"

"I don't know…" Marcus said, scratching the back of his head, "Maybe we should just tell them the truth."

"No way," Leon said, "that's a terrible idea. Now are you with me or not?"

Marcus sighed and gave a small nod.

"Good!" Leon said, "Now here's what we need to do. When they ask what happened, we say what I said. We fell out of a tree, I hit my eye on a rock, and you scratched your chest on some branches, okay?"

"Okay." Marcus said, half-heartily.

"Alright, now you lead the way back." Leon said.

The two boys walked back to the house. When they arrived, Marcus was the first one to walk into the house and Leon followed him. They were greeted by Fox and Krystal who were standing in the kitchen. Neither parent was smiling. They both had their arms crossed with looks of disappointment on their faces.

"Uh, h-high Mr. and Mrs. McCloud!" Leon said with a crack in his voice, "We were just, um, climbing a tree and fell down but we're okay! Right Marcus?"

"What? Oh yeah! Right! Um, sure!" Marcus said, stuttering.

"Marcus, were you two fighting?" Krystal asked with a motherly look and voice.

Marcus looked at his mother for two seconds and then broke.

"We were fighting." He said, looking ashamed.

Leon's eyes widened and he turned to Marcus.

"You idiot, what are you doing?!" he said, yelling at Marcus.

"I told you our lying wouldn't work! My mom is a telepath, she already knew!" Marcus desperately responded.

There was a dead silence, and Marcus's face turned red, realizing he forgot to mention that to Leon. He simply gave Leon a stupid smile before the lupine began strangling him.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THAT IN THE FIRST PLACE YOU FREAKING MORON!?" Leon roared.

Before Leon could continue choking Marcus, Fox grabbed both of the boys by the ear, causing them to yelp with pain.

"In my room, right now!" Fox said with a demanding voice.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Unlikely Brotherhood

Fox was sitting down on his bed with Leon and Marcus in front of him. Both of the boys looked ashamed while Fox lectured them.

"Honestly," Fox began, his voice stern, "I know you two like to fight, but this is unacceptable! I leave you two alone for the first time, and you come back looking like this."

"I'm sorry dad." Marcus said, his ears dropping in shame.

Fox had to try his best not to smile at him. The kid was adorable looking when he felt guilty, and it was hard to get angry with him. Fox closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"You two have to be more careful." Fox began again, this time with more concern in his voice, "Any other kid, and I wouldn't care as much, but you two are way too strong."

"Thanks Dad!" Marcus said, his ears popping back up, but they quickly went down again when Fox glared at him, and Leon gave him a look telling him to shut up.

"I'm being _serious_ ," Fox said, now much sterner, "you two are strong, and you could really hurt each other without intention."

"Are you gonna keep us from fighting now?" Leon said. He looked more worried than he did ashamed, and Marcus would probably cry if Fox kept them from fighting.

Fox shook his head.

"You two can still practice, just be more careful." Fox said, "I don't want to take your training privileges away from you, but if you come back this badly hurt again, you won't leave the house at all, understood?"

Marcus's ears perked up and his tail started to wag, and a huge smile beamed across his face as he hugged his father.

"Thanks Daddy! Ow." Marcus pulled away from his father, realizing his chest still hurt. Fox grabbed his son and lifted him off the bed and back onto the carpet.

"Go see your mother to get that wound properly cleaned and bandaged, okay kiddo?" Fox said with a half-smile.

Marcus nodded and left. Leon was about to leave until Fox stopped him.

"Just a moment Leon, I need to talk to you. Can you close the door son?"

Leon nodded and did as he was told. When he sat down and looked at Fox, he noticed how tired Fox looked. He stared at Leon, and then starred at the floor with his eyes closed, still half smiling.

"Leon," Fox started, "you know I don't hate you."

Leon was baffled. He didn't know what Fox wanted to talk to him about, but he was not expecting that.

"What are you talking about?" Leon said, sounding confused, "I know you don't hate me. I've known that for a long time."

"Then why did you attack Marcus?" Fox said, looking at Leon still with that half-smile.

Leon got even more confused. He didn't see how that was relevant in any way. Fox started again.

"Do you still feel like you need to prove something son?" Fox said.

Leon starred at him for what seemed like an hour. He knew exactly what Fox meant. He was talking about Leon's father and was wondering if he still felt like he had a destiny or something that he needed to follow, and that killing the son of his father's worst enemy would somehow fulfill it, even though Marcus was the one who wanted to fight.

"It's not like that at all." Leon finally said, "I didn't even intend on fighting Marcus. He wanted to fight me first and I was surprised by it."

Fox gave a sigh of relief and then chuckled.

"I'm not." he said, now fully smiling at Leon, "Marcus isn't afraid of anything and will fight anyone who wants to."

"Yeah, he's not very smart that way you know." said Leon, now smiling as well, and both of them started laughing. When they stopped, Fox walked over to Leon, half-smiling again. He rested his hand on Leon's shoulder.

"But you know I love you, right kiddo?" Fox said with a warm voice.

Leon smiled and nodded.

"I love you too Mr. McCloud." he said, and the two hugged each other.

It was odd that Leon would still call this man "Mr. McCloud". It was so blatantly obvious at this point that Leon had accepted him as his father, but he still wouldn't call him that. In a way, Leon wondered if he really did see Fox as merely a friend.

"Now let's get your eye patched up." Fox said.

Over the next two months, things began to change in the McCloud household. Fox went back to work, Krystal began homeschooling both Marcus and Leon and the boys spent all of their time in the forest, fighting and training with each other. The two fought a lot, with words just as much as fists, but they did begin to grow on each other and strangely enough, a brotherly bond began to manifest itself with the two boys. Marcus always looked up to Leon as a big brother, and although Leon did think that Marcus was annoying at times, he did admit that he had a lot in common with the vulpine. The two began forming an unbreakable friendship, and it was on a camping trip that the boys took that Leon finally accepted his new brother.

"We'll only be gone one night." Leon said to his mother, who was worrying about sending her kids away for so long. Leon was wearing a white shirt with blue shorts and some brown hiking boots, typical wear for a camping trip.

"Just be careful." She said to Leon. Marcus was packing the rest of the equipment for the trip, and Leon was trying to talk about the plans with his mother.

"We will be Mrs. McCloud, honest." Leon said, smiling at Krystal, who closed her eyes and hugged Leon tightly. She had already began looking at Leon as her own son, and acted as a mother towards him just as much as she did towards Marcus.

"Just don't doing anything unnecessarily dangerous alright?" she said, looking at her son and putting both her paws on his cheeks.

"We won't, promise." he said, blushing from embarrassment. Leon loved Krystal's motherly love and affection. Like Fox's fatherly love, it was something entirely new to him.

Krystal smiled, and kissed her son on the cheek.

"Now go help your brother pack," she said, "you know he'll forget something."

Leon nodded and started helping Marcus with the packing. Marcus was wearing black hiking boots and a green shirt, along with thick, brown shorts. Not to Leon's surprise, Marcus had forgotten many important items to pack, including the tent.

"Where on earth were we gonna sleep at night!?" Leon said loudly at Marcus.

Marcus shrugged.

"I don't know," he said with a blank expression, "I figured we would just sleep in a tree or something."

"How does that even make-

Leon stopped, realizing it wouldn't be worth the argument. He just groaned and told Marcus to get his gear. With that, the two boys left for their camping trip.

"Be back before lunch tomorrow boys!" Krystal hollered at them as they left.

"We will!" they both yelled back.

Marcus led Leon into the forest. He stopped when he reached a small lake, about four miles away from the house. Marcus smiled and set his gear down, tired from carrying it.

"This will make a great place to fish!" he said with an excited voice.

"Yeah," Leon said in agreement, "get the tent out so we can pitch it. This will be a good place to make camp."

Marcus obeyed and pulled out the tent while Leon went to work actually setting it up. Marcus began getting out the rest of the supplies, including snacks, sleeping bags, water bottles, the fishing equipment, and the radio transponder that his father gave him.

"How did your dad get this anyway?" Leon asked, as Marcus gave him the small radio device.

"He used it on his ground missions to talk to other people he was working with." Marcus answered, "Mom has the other one."

"Why do we need this if you can use your telepathy?" Leon asked.

"I don't need it. You do! You don't have telepathy, remember?" Marcus said with a smile.

"No, thank you for reminding me." Leon answered with a sarcastic tone, "Get the fishing equipment ready, and please don't mess anything up okay?"

"I won't!" Marcus said jubilantly. He was really excited about the fishing part. He was never able to do it since none of his other camping trips with his father had a lake they could fish with. Finally, Marcus could actually fish.

After the camp was set up, Leon went over to the edge of the lake were Marcus had already set up all the equipment. The two struggled with the bait, wondering how to get the worm around the hook. In all honesty, neither one of them had any idea how to fish and were really just improvising. Although Marcus knew how to cast a line, his father hadn't really been able to teach him anything else. After finally getting a crude representation of bait on a hook, the boys casted their lines into the lake and waited for the fish to bite.

Hours seemed to pass, and neither boy had any luck. Marcus groaned, starting to become impatient with the fish.

"This is booooriiiing." he whined, "I thought this would be fun."

Leon sighed. Although he would usually get mad at Marcus for being a whiner, he had to admit that it wasn't a very entertaining activity.

"Yeah, this is ridiculous." he said, "We must have done something wrong with the bait."

"But I don't know what else to do with it." Marcus said, still whining and landing on his back, "There are so many fish in the water. Why can't we catch any?"

Leon looked down into the lake. He could see all of the fish who weren't bothering to catch the line and got an idea. Putting his rod on the ground, he pulled his transponder out of his pocket and set it right next to the rod. He then got on all fours and eyed the water, looking for a fish to target.

Marcus noticed his brother's sudden change of movements and asked him what he was doing but before he could get an answer, Leon quickly plunged into the water.

"What the…" Marcus said, quickly going over to the water, "Hey what are you doing you dummy!?" he yelled, "You'll scare the fish off!"

As soon as he finished, Leon surfaced with a fish caught in his jaws. Marcus gasped and smiled, quickly getting what his brother had in mind.

"That's a great idea!" Marcus said, looking excited with his tail wagging.

"It's so much easier," Leon said right after he climbed out of the water and spit the fish out onto the ground with a smile on his face, "and we'll catch way more."

"I wanna try!" Marcus said eyeing the water.

"Whoever catches the most fish wins, alright?" Leon said, turning the activity into a competition. Almost everything these two did now became a competition.

Marcus nodded with a smile on his face. With that, the two hunters caught their next targets and pounced into the water.

They spent almost the entire day hunting down fish. It became harder over time, and the fish started to become cleverer, staying farther away from the surface. It finally came down to having to swim around near the lake bottom to find some. Luckily, Leon and Marcus were both natural hunters and very fast swimmers, so catching the fish wasn't too difficult for them, but it was tiring, and by the time they finished, both parties where exhausted.

Surprisingly enough, Marcus won, but only by a small margin. Marcus caught twenty three while Leon caught twenty. Leon wasn't too upset, seeing how Marcus had a very obvious advantage.

"You're way faster," Leon said, gasping for air and sitting down, leaning on his arms, "and you were using your telepathy, weren't you?"

"I thought we already agreed that I couldn't use that if you couldn't use your claws." Marcus said, looking at Leon. He was panting as well, but he didn't look nearly as tired as Leon did.

"That was only for battle you dope." Leon said, "Do you mean you weren't using your telepathy at all?"

Marcus shook his head.

Leon smiled

"That's impressive." He said with pride in his voice. Although he would usually be upset about something like that, he was glad to see Marcus was being as fair as he could. It also showed how fast the vulpine was.

Marcus blushed and smiled with his eyes closed tightly, looking at the ground as he always did when someone gave him a compliment.

Both of the boys stood up and realized a serious problem. Neither one of them bothered to take their clothes off and were now completely soaked.

"Here," Leon said, "let's take our clothes off and start a fire, they can dry out overnight."

Marcus nodded in agreement, and both boys walked back to their encampment with their fishing gear.

When they both took their clothes off, ironically enough, they realized they had made an even bigger mistake by only packing their swim suites for clothes.

"Well, that was really stupid wasn't it?" Leon said laughing at himself. Although he would almost always blame Marcus for something like this, he admitted that this particular error was his mistake.

"We can wear these." Marcus said, not getting upset at all, "They're not that different from real shorts."

Leon agreed, and the two decided to wear their swimsuits. After that, Leon used what knowledge Fox had given him on camping and started a fire. It was starting to get dark, and the boys decided it was time for dinner. Cooking some fish and taking out some snacks and drinks, the boys had a feast. They both had ten fish each with twenty three left over.

"Ugh, I feel kind of sick." Marcus said as he laid down on his back smiling, "Those fish were so good. I couldn't stop eating."

"Yeah, they were amazing." Leon said, sitting up. Both he and Marcus were close to the fire, and the temperature had begun to drop rapidly as it always did on Cornaria at night, regardless of the season (although some seasons were colder than others).

Marcus snuggled up closely to Leon and laid his head in his lap.

"What…what are you doing?" Leon said, looking down at Marcus.

"I'm cold," Marcus said, sounding tired, "and your coats thicker than mine."

"Get off my lap, seriously! Marcus I _don't_ want to do this!" Leon said, sounding agitated.

"No…" Marcus said sounding even more tired as he curled up in a ball with his tail between his legs and closed his eyes.

Leon was about to protest some more, but seeing that Marcus was already falling asleep, he rolled his eyes and decided to just endure it. Leon starred down at Marcus, who he assumed was now sleeping. He smiled. Even he had to admit that the little pup was adorable at times. He put his hand on Marcus's head and began softly scratching it. Marcus smiled and spoke.

"Love you Leon," he mumbled, "you're a good brother."

Leon stopped scratching Marcus's head. His smile disappeared and he just starred at the vulpine with a blank expression. This was the third person to tell Leon they loved him, with Fox and Krystal being the other two. What surprised Leon more was the other thing Marcus said to him. He called him his brother.

Leon starred up into the night sky. He always thought of himself as Marcus's friend and nothing more, no different from a friend of Mr. or Mrs. McCloud. But as Leon thought about it some more, he realized it was different with Marcus. He was beginning to realize that it was more than just a friendship he had.

As Leon thought more deeply, he began to wonder if it was actually wrong to call Marcus his brother. He began to wonder if it was okay to be his friend. In his mind, Leon was still struggling with thoughts of his father. What would _he_ think? What would _he_ say? Would he really be okay with his son being friends with or, worse, brothers with his enemy's son?

But as Leon thought about it, he smiled, realizing how absurd the whole thought was. His biological father was not here right now and, as far as Leon knew, didn't care at all about his own son. Leon put his hand on Marcus's head and spoke softly to the vulpine.

"I love you too Marcus," Leon whispered, "and you're _also_ a good brother."

Without needing a tent or a tree, both Marcus and Leon fell asleep at their campsite.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Forest Bandits

About one week after Marcus and Leon's camping trip, something happened that would change everyone in the McCloud family forever.

The two boys were at their little fighting arena and had just finished another duel. Marcus won this time, but as always, it was a close fight. Leon looked around the arena and noticed something about the layout of the circle. Although it did serve as a good place to practice fighting, it hardly had the look of a real arena.

"Can you go get some rocks from the side of the river?" Leon asked his brother.

"What for?" Marcus asked.

"For the arena," Leon answered him, "we need to make this look more like a real fighting circle. If we put rocks on the outer edge, we can have more of a boundary line."

"Does it really matter how it looks?" Marcus asked his brother.

"Well yeah, I mean don't you want this to look more like a battleground and less like a random forest clearing?" Leon replied.

Marcus shrugged

"I don't really care," he answered, "but I guess it could look a little cooler."

"Then can you go get some rocks from the lake?" Leon asked Marcus once more, "The ones there are much smoother."

Marcus nodded and was about to head off until he remembered something else.

"Oh, oh! Can I see the radio transponder?" he asked Leon, holding his hands out and smiling.

"Why?" Leon asked, feeling frustrated that his brother was taking forever, "You have your telepathy, and I need the transponder in case something bad happens."

"C'mon, Please?" Marcus begged his brother, "I just want to hold it, and nothing bad will happen. This is the most boring forest ever."

"Yeah tell me about it." Leon replied closing his eyes. He then looked at Marcus, who had his ears down and was doing the best begging act he could perform. Leon sighed and gave in.

"Alright," he said, taking the radio out, "but just this once, and don't drop and/or loose it okay?"

"Okay!" Marcus replied, his tail wagging as he grabbed the radio transponder. As soon as he had it, he set off for the lake.

As Marcus walked to the lake, which was about a five minute walk away from the arena, he starred at the transponder, looking at is design. It looked like a small headpiece with a mic on it, similar to one a pilot would use, but its color and overall size was different. Unlike the typical white transponder that pilots would use, this one was camouflaged, and its size was much bulkier in order to keep it from getting damaged. Marcus studied the device like an archeologist would study a fossil. He smiled. His father's old military devices were some of the best toys that Leon had (but of course, Fox never let him use his old blaster).

When Leon reached the lake, he put the transponder in his pocket and went to work collecting rocks. He didn't know how many he needed, so he just started to grab as many as he could. There were some on the shore, but Leon had to reach into the shallowest parts of the lake to get the others. While he was collecting them, Marcus heard a twig break from one of the trees. His ears perked up and he looked over at the tree, wondering what it was. Seeing that there was nobody there, he decided to go back to work until he heard another twig snap from another tree. This time Marcus stood up and looked at the trees, beginning to feel nervous.

"Leon, is that you?" Marcus softly asked.

He used his telepathic powers to see if he could sense his brother. When he couldn't sense Leon, or anyone else for that matter, Marcus decided that it was nothing, and went back to work. Before Leon knew it, a rat man landed from a tree branch right above him and quickly restrained Marcus before he could get away. A lizard man stepped out from behind one of the trees and helped the rat with his hostage, gagging Marcus with a white cloth.

"Quickly," the rat squealed, "put it on his head!"

A puma man then stepped out from behind another tree with a metal circle in his hand. As Marcus squirmed, trying to get away, he realized that all three of the bandits had a similar device on their own head. The puma ran over to Marcus, jamming the device on top of his head.

"Are you sure it will work?" the lizard hissed.

"Of course," the puma said, sounding much calmer than the other two, "it worked for us didn't it? These dampening rings kept him from sensing us, and the one on his head will keep him from using his power to communicate with anyone else."

"It better work," the lizard hissed again, walking over to the puma, "these weren't cheap you know, and they're rare to buy on the black market. Do you have any idea how much we spent on these?!"

"Patience," the puma said, "money won't be a problem for us anymore. His father is an old mercenary who has a ginormous fortune saved up. He'll pay a fair price to get his son back."

"That's right," the rat squealed again, "We'll be rich!"

Marcus stopped squirming. His eyes shot open. He understood what was going on now. These bandits were kidnapping him to make his father pay a ransom.

"And what about his mother?" the lizard hissed once more, "Isn't she a telepath too? What if she already knows about this?!

"Would you shut up already?" the puma said, beginning to lose his patient, "I already told you, all telepathic communication is blocked off. She can't sense anything from him right now."

"Then she'll start to get suspicious wont she?" the lizard said.

"Precisely," the puma answered, "which is why we must go now."

"Fine," the lizard responded, and turned to address the rat "get the kid and let's get out of here."

The rat obeyed, and lifted up Marcus, who had just heard about the whole plan. When the rat had him in the air, Marcus quickly head butted him, causing him to let go and scream in agony, blood pouring from his now broken nose. When Marcus landed on the ground, he stood up and tried to run.

"You're not going anywhere you brat!" the lizard said, pulling a stunner from his pocket.

"No, don't!" the puma yelled at the lizard, but it was too late. He already pulled the trigger and Marcus fell on the forest floor unconscious.

While Marcus was gone, Leon decided to practice some more with his attacks. He decided to work more on the attacks that involved speed rather than strength, knowing that Marcus was much faster than himself.

Leon paused his training. His ear perked up. Something felt…wrong. Although Leon couldn't really explain it, something did not feel right. Leon's eyes than widened and he looked into the direction that Marcus walked. Something was happening to him. Marcus was in trouble. Leon's protective instinct kicked right in and Leon began running the same direction that Marcus went.

"Somethings wrong," Leon thought to himself, "I can't explain it, but something feels incredibly wrong. Marcus is in danger."

Leon ran faster, that weird feeling in him started to get larger, almost like he could feel Marcus crying out for help, even though he couldn't hear anything.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," Leon thought to himself, "Marcus hang on!"

And then Leon smelt them. There were three of them. His lupine scent could easily pick them up. A rat, a lizard, and a puma. Leon knew that this wasn't normal. Nobody ever came out into the woods except for himself and Marcus.

"It has to be them," Leon thought to himself, "They _must_ be the ones hurting Marcus."

Leon began sprinting as fast as he could, worrying about his little brother.

Leon finally arrived at the scene were his brother was. He took cover behind a tree, hiding from the bandits. When he peeked from behind it to see what had happened, Leon was stunned. He couldn't believe what he was watching. His little brother was lying on the forest floor and a lizard was pointing his weapon at him. This bandit, this monster, had just shot his little brother. Leon felt a flat note play in his head, and then he snapped.

"What are you doing you stupid amphibian!?" the puma yelled at the lizard, "That was set to the highest frequency! It probably killed him!"

"Whatever," this lizard said as he walked over to Marcus and put a hand on his pulse, "he's still alive, but his pulse is weak."

The rat got up, holding his nose and whimpering.

"Watch over him you moron." The lizard said to the rat as he walked over to the puma, "Look, I had no other choice alright? Now let's get out of here before-

"Wait a minute," the puma interrupted him, "I smell something."

The lizard pointed his weapon in the direction that the puma was now looking.

"What is it?" he asked, aggravated that they still couldn't leave.

"Someone's here." the puma said, unsheathing his claws.

The rat looked over to his two companions.

"What?" he asked nervously, "Who is it?"

The puma and the lizard both turned from the direction were the scent was coming from and looked at the rat.

"Shut up you idiot," the lizard said, sounding more agitated, "and keep your eyes on the-

Before the lizard could finish his sentence, Leon had taken the opportunity to exploit their distraction and pounced at the lizard, biting his neck and crushing his windpipe. The lizard went tumbling down and both the puma and the rat where completely caught off guard by the surprise attack. Leon quickly grabbed the stunner from the downed lizard's hands and fired three shots at the rat, taking him out of the battle with a small scream of pain. He then turned to the puma to fire, but his advantage of surprise had worn of and the puma was right on top of him. He brought one of his claws down, scratching Leon's hand and making him drop the pistol. The puma quickly kicked it away and brought both claws down onto Leon, however this time Leon managed to catch his arms.

Leon and the puma were snarling at each other. The puma was a full foot taller than Leon, but Leon's lupine strength matched the puma's bigger size and age. Both fighters were evenly matched in power, but Leon could slowly begin to feel his strength starting to waver. He had to do something fast, otherwise the puma would simply overwhelm him with sheer force and power, not to mention the pain from his hand. After almost being brought to his knees, Leon decided he couldn't wait anymore with his brother being down and took a large gamble.

He let go of the puma's hands and quickly leaned into him. The puma brought both of his claws down on Leon, digging them into his back. Filled with adrenaline, and knowing his brother's life was at stake, Leon didn't even scream. Instead, he used the opportunity to make three large claw marks across the puma's torso, cutting his chest and nearly ripping open his stomach. The puma screamed in unbearable agony on his new critical injuries and pulled his claws out of Leon's back, holding his own injuries and trying to back away. He was too slow, and Leon quickly ended the battle by delivering a jump kick to the puma's head, knocking the bandit out cold.

As soon as he won, Leon quickly ran over to Marcus, getting on his knees and putting a hand underneath the unconscious vulpine's head. He took of his gag and the strange device he had on his head.

"Marcus," Leon said, desperately, "Marcus wake up! C'mon, please! I need you to wake up!"

Nothing.

"Marcus," Leon said, know beginning to choke up, "please. Wake up. It's me! It's your brother Leon! C'mon you stupid idiot, wake up. Wake up!"

Still nothing. Marcus was out cold.

Leon put a hand on the vulpine's chest and felt his heartbeat. It was faint. Marcus was hurt. Badly hurt. Leon knew he had to get him back to their parents' house. He softly cradled the vulpine in his arms and lifted him up. Leon grunted with pain and fell back on his knees. His back injury was starting to take its toll.

Leon reached into Marcus's pocket to get the transponder, deciding to call his parents for help. It was dead. Short circuited from the stunner that hit Marcus. Leon swore and put it back into his pocket. He lifted Marcus up, thinking only about his little brother. Protecting his little brother. He screamed in pain, trying to avoid the back injury, thinking only about Marcus. He slowly walked back to their house, an agonizing 3 mile journey.

"Just hang in there Marcus," Leon said, now crying, "hang in there brother."

Back at the McCloud residence, Krystal was pacing back in fourth. She knew something had gone terribly wrong. When Fox got back from work, Krystal told him that their sons hadn't come back yet. She also told him that's she couldn't sense either one of them and that the transponder wasn't answering.

"It's getting dark," Krystal said, looking like she was about to faint from her nervousness, "Fox this isn't right. I can't sense either one of them."

"I know," Fox said as he got his blaster belt on, "I'll go out and look for them. I'm sure their fine."

"If they were fine, I should have sensed them." Krystal said, beginning to sound hysteric.

Fox holstered his pistol and walked over to his wife, resting a hand on her shoulder and putting another one under her chin, turning her eyes up to meet his own.

"Don't worry," he said, "I'll find them. They're both tough kids. I'm sure they're okay."

Krystal closed her eyes and softly nodded, letting her anxiety drop a little. Fox smiled at her, but it quickly disappeared when she quickly opened her eyes with a gasp and turned to the door. Acting on instinct, Fox pulled his pistol out and pointed it at the door which was now opening. Leon walked in, crying and holding an unconscious Marcus in his arms.

"LEON! MARCUS!" Fox screamed as he and his wife ran over to their sons.

"Marcus!" Krystal screamed as she saw her son unconscious, "Oh gosh, Leon, what happened to him?! What happened to you two!?"

"Bandits," Leon choked out, "I'm sorry. I couldn't protect him. He was stunned, and I don't know why but he's barely breathing."

Fox walked over to Marcus and lifted him out of Leon's arms. While he did so, he noticed blood dripping from Leon's back.

"Leon, what happened to you?" Fox asked, and the way he sounded reminded Krystal of their time back in Starfox. He sounded like a soldier.

"I-it's nothing." Leon said, still crying and sniffling, "I-I'm okay, buy you need to help Marcus. He's barely breathing."

Fox put his head down on Marcus's chest to listen for a heartbeat.

"He's alive," Fox said, "but there's no telling what the stunner did to him. Krystal, I need you to stay here and patch up Leon's wound. I'm going to run Marcus over to the hospital okay?"

Krystal nodded, realizing her husband had quickly transformed back into the leader that he used to be. Fox exited the house and ran as fast as he could to the hospital. Krystal walked over to Leon, putting both of her hands on the sides of his shoulders, trying to calm down the hysteric lupine.

"Honey," Krystal said softly to him, "I need you to come over here and sit down on the chair okay sweetie?"

Leon nodded and obeyed, still crying. Krystal came back with some alcohol and a first aid kit. She pulled out some scissors and started to cut the back of Leon's blood stained shirt.

"It's all my fault." Leon cried, burying his face inside of his hands.

"It's okay honey." Krystal whispered to him.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: A New Family

"They were just a couple of bandits." Falco said to Krystal

The two were standing in the hospital waiting room. Fox had called up his old friend to do an investigation on the bandits that had tried to kidnap his son to see if they were connected to some larger organization. Falco agreed to help his friend and, thanks to the coordinates Fox gave him on the lake, managed to capture and interrogate the surviving rat that Leon had stunned. The lizard died from having his throat crushed, and the puma died from blood loss before Falco arrived at the scene. The rat, fortunately, was only dazed.

"They were nobodies," Falco reassured Krystal, who looked as pail as a ghost, just as paranoid as her husband, "this isn't some big ploy to ruin your lives, trust me. It was just a money grab."

"Are you positive?" Krystal asked, her voice shaking, "Falco we don't want an old enemy coming after us."

Falco looked at his old friend with pity in his eyes. He hated to see Krystal and Fox like this. The two were the best couple Falco had ever known, and seeing them so badly shaken by some random kidnappers turned his stomach.

He smiled and rested one of his wings on Krystal's shoulder.

"I'm positive." he said, "It's me, remember? I wouldn't slack on something like this."

Krystal sighed heavily and rested her fingers on her head, closing her eyes and looking down.

"Falco I'm so sorry about this." she started, "I know this is inconvenient for you but-

"Hey," Falco interrupted her, "Don't start that okay? It's fine really. Don't ever feel like you're being an inconvenience when you ask me for help. I'm happy to help my friends, especially when they've been shaken up a bit."

Krystal looked up and smiled at the blue avian, who smiled back at her. The two had always been good friends, and Falco, like Fox, helped Krystal out when she lost her planet (but Fox was much more intimate about it).

"If that's the case," Krystal started again, "can I ask you a couple of questions?"

"Sure," Falco said, crossing his wings with a smile, "what else are you wanting to know, blueness?"

Krystal closed her eyes and smiled. Hearing him use the nickname he gave her brought her back to the old days. She opened her eyes and spoke.

"I couldn't sense Marcus's thoughts," she started, "were they using a dampening plate?"

Falco nodded.

"Yeah, it looks that way," he started, "which also explains how they managed to sneak up on him. He must have already passed out when Leon took it off of him."

"Okay that makes since," she said, "but there's something that doesn't quite fit."

Falco narrowed his eyes, looking confused.

"It's Leon," she started, "I couldn't sense Leon's thoughts either, but he wasn't wearing a dampening plate and he wasn't knocked out. Why is that?"

Falco put a wing under his chin and starred at the lupine, who was sitting in a chair silently and looking down at the ground during the entire conversation the two were having. He didn't know much about Leon, except that Fox and Krystal had adopted him and that he was the son of their arch enemy. As he thought some more, he remembered an old incident they had with Wolf a long time ago.

"Remember our last mission against Star Wolf thirteen years ago," Falco started, "the one where we crippled his whole squad and sent his ship running over Cornaria?"

Krystal nodded. It seemed like ages ago, but she did indeed remember the incident. They intercepted Wolf's squad after he stole a weapons shipment that had just come in on the planet.

"Of course I remember," Krystal started, not following were Falco was going, "but how is that relevant?"

"Remember when we knocked out the other Star Wolf squad members and Wolf retreated, speeding over the planet?" Falco continued.

Krystal nodded, remembering all the details.

"Well, you tried to sense him out didn't you?" Falco questioned, "And didn't you have trouble getting inside of his head?"

Krystal thought about it some more and began to understand what Falco was saying. She easily managed to get inside the heads of the other Star Wolf members, but she couldn't get inside of Wolf's head.

"Are you saying that Leon has some special telepathic resistance that he inherited from his father?" she asked him.

Falco shrugged.

"It's a possibility." he said, "It's not the only time it's happened with a lupine you know. Maybe it's just a species thing."

"But I've managed to sense his mind before." Krystal said, "Why would it activate now?"

"He was protecting Marcus." Falco answered.

"But what does that have to do with it?" she asked, getting more curios. She wanted to know what Falco was talking about.

"Well," Falco started, trying to explain the phenomenon to the best of his abilities, "Wolf's protective instinct must have been going wild when he left us, so maybe that's why you couldn't sense him out. It probably activates around that specific instinct, and the lupines are trained to control it. At least…I'm assuming they are. Leon's was probably activated when he protected Marcus and he didn't even realize it."

Krystal starred at her son. Leon was still looking down, his eyes bright red from crying. She sighed and turned back to Falco, hugging the bird.

"Thank you for everything." She said softly to him.

Falco looked a little annoyed.

"Okay, okay," he said, "your welcome. I'm not the touchy type you know."

Krystal laughed and let go of him. She then turned and headed for the room that Marcus and Fox were in. When she entered, Fox had his head buried in Marcus's chest. Marcus was still unconscious and although the doctor said that he would be fine, Fox refused to leave his side. Krystal knelt down to her husband and put both of her hands on his shoulders.

Fox held his son tightly and spoke, no longer sounding like a soldier.

"What is wrong with me," he said with a trembling voice, "why did I ever let them go out alone in the first place?"

"It's not your fault." Krystal said to him.

"How is it not my fault!?" Fox said, getting angrier at himself, "What was I thinking!? I should've known this would happen, I should've known! I'm such a crappy father!"

"Stop that." Krystal softly said to him, "You know that's not true. Even if it was somehow your fault, it would also be my fault. I'm his mother. We had no reason to think there would be something dangerous in the forest. It won't happen again."

Fox stopped hugging his son and looked at his wife. His eyes were as red as Leon's. He wrapped his arms around her and she did the same to him.

"We won't ever put them in that sort of danger again." He said, trying to sound more like a leader again.

Krystal smiled and nodded. She than let go of Fox and went to check on Leon. This entire time, she had been trying to comfort everyone to the best of her abilities. Although she wanted to break down and cry over her own son just like Fox had done, she also had another son who was hurting badly. She hated to see her husband beating himself up over this, but she had to check on Leon.

When she walked into the waiting room, Falco was talking to one of the doctors while Leon was still blankly looking at the ground.

"Leon," Krystal asked him as she sat down right next to him, "honey, are you okay?"

Leon didn't answer, and Krystal grabbed one of his hands and began softly rubbing it with her own.

"They were going to kidnap him," Leon started, his voice plain, "I…I had to kill them I…I had no choice."

"Oh, honey," Krystal said, now grabbing both of his hands and looking right into his eyes with a smile, "nobody thinks any less of you for that. You were defending yourself from criminals."

"But I killed them." Leon said, his voice beginning to crack a little, "I killed them. I killed them."

Leon put his head in his hands and started to cry.

"What's wrong with me?" he cried, "I killed two people. I'm a murderer!"

"Come here sweetie." Krystal said, grabbing her son who was now crying into her shoulder.

"You're not a murderer." she whispered to him, "You were protecting Marcus. Those are two very different things. Those men were putting their own lives on the line by trying to kidnap someone. It is nobody's fault but their own."

Leon said nothing and simply cried into Krystal's shoulder. After a long time of waiting, he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry mom!" he said, still crying.

Krystal's eyes widened and her mouth was left slightly open. She then smiled, and started to cry small tears of joy.

"That's the first time you called me mom Leon." she said, closing her eyes tight and hugging her son tighter.

Leon didn't respond, and the two held on to each other.

Leon had finally gone through the last stage of acceptance in his family. Now, he truly did have parents. Now, his family was all that mattered to him.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: More Training

"Come on you two" Falco said to Marcus and Leon as they walked through the forest.

It had been about a week since Marcus woke up. The vulpine had recovered fine and was back to his jubilant self. He even apologized to Leon for getting beat so easily, but the lupine simple hugged him, happy to see he was okay. Now the two boys were being led to their arena that they always practiced in.

"Uncle Falco," Marcus started, "why are you going with us again?"

"Your father and I agreed that if you two were going to get stronger, you would need a better trainer." Falco started, "So that's why I'm going with you. From now on, I'll be your trainer."

"Sir, are you really okay with that?" Leon asked him, "You don't have to do this, and we know you're busy with Star Fox."

Falco laughed.

"Busy did you say?" Falco asked, "Kid, Star Fox is no more than a small police force now. I'm hardly busy. Trust me, I have _plenty_ of time."

"So we get to train with you from now on!?" Marcus asked, his tail starting to wag with excitement.

Falco nodded.

"Aren't you two going to be arwing pilot's when you grow up?" he asked, "It only makes since if you have a retired one training with you before that."

"That's so awesome!" Marcus said, "Leon, we get a pilot to train with! A real pilot!"

"Thank you so much Uncle Falco." Leon said with a smile, "This is really helpful."

"Don't mention it," Falco said, "and please don't call me Uncle Falco. I'm not your father's brother."

"So what?" Marcus asked as he looked at Falco with a confused look on his face, "You can still be our uncle, right?"

Falco gave an aggravated look at the vulpine, but Marcus just gave a large smile with his eyes closed. Falco realized it would be useless to convince the kid to call him by his real name.

Falco gave a sigh, and decided to keep talking about the new training plans.

"From now on, after you two have finished your homeschool work with Krystal, I'll train you for the rest of your free time." Falco explained, "Marcus, Krystal has also agreed to add combat training to your daily hour of telepathy practice.

"Really!?" Marcus said, looking even more excited, "This is so great!"

"It won't be easy," Falco said, giving a smile, "and I won't go easy on you two even for a second. The training will be tough, and the fighting will be tougher."

"No problem." Leon said, "The more training the better."

"Yeah!" Marcus agreed, "That sounds really fun actually!"

Falco closed his eyes, still smiling. They had no idea how hard he was going to go on them. He couldn't wait to see how bad the first training session went.

When they arrived at the little arena, Falco ordered them both to go to the other side while he went to the middle.

"Hold on," Leon said, "I thought me and Marcus were going to fight each other! What are you doing in the arena?"

"You're not going to fight each other," Falco said, "you are both going to fight me."

"What!?" Marcus yelled, "But that's two against one, it's not fair!"

"Yeah, it's an uneven match." Leon added.

Falco gave a smug look and crossed his wings.

"If you feel so confident that you can beat me that easily," he said, "come at me."

Marcus and Leon starred at each other. They both smiled and nodded, having the same thing in mind.

"Okay, we'll do it!" Leon said, getting into his duel stance while Marcus got into his fighting position. When the two were set, they realized that Falco hadn't even bugged, and was still crossing his arms.

"Let's get this pigeon!" Leon said and started running at Falco.

"Right behind you!" Marcus said and began sprinting at Falco, catching up with Leon.

Before the two brothers knew what hit them, Falco almost teleported right next to both of them while they were running and smacked them both on the back of their heads with his wings. The two went tumbling down, and when they got up to see were Falco was, the bird had disappeared.

"What the…" Marcus said as he got up, "Where did he go?"

As soon as he asked the question, Falco seemed to teleport right in front of Marcus, startling the vulpine. Next thing Marcus knew he was flying through the air screaming after Falco delivered a kick to him, knocking him right out of bounds.

"Marcus!" Leon yelled as he barred his claws and pounced at Falco. The birds back was facing him and Leon smiled, confident that he was distracted, but when he took a swipe at Falco's head, the avian simply ducked without turning around.

"Hey know," Falco casually said as he turned around to face a stunned Leon, "it's not nice to sneak up on people like that."

Leon's expression of shock quickly turned to one of anger.

"You overgrown turkey!" Leon yelled before releasing a barrage of claw swipes at Falco.

Falco was dodging Leon's attacks like they were nothing and Leon was growling, frustrated by his inability to even pull of a single hit.

"You're attacks are sloppy," Falco said as he dodged Leon's swipes, "and your form is unbalanced. It's a wonder that you're really the son of Wolf O'Donnell."

That last insult put Leon on edge, and with a roar, the lupine brought both of his claws down on Falco, who simple caught both of them with his wings. Falco's strength was unreal, and Leon noticed how much stronger he was than the puma he fought when Falco brought Leon down to his knees effortlessly.

"C'mon" Falco said to him, smiling, "Where's the strength of the warrior race?"

Leon was struggling to get off his knees, and Falco was still smiling. Finally, out of an outburst of pure rage, Leon summoned all the strength he had and broke free from the avian's grasp, but Falco's expression was unchanging. Leon was about to bring down another swipe, but the bird seemed to teleport again, and Leon realized he was right behind him. Before he could turn around, Falco had already delivered a kick right into Leon's rear, sending him flying through the air just like Marcus until he fell right on top of his little brother, who was just about to get up. Falco crossed his wings and shook his head.

"You two have no teamwork." Falco said to the boys as they got onto their feet, "You need to work together more if you want to have any chance at beating me."

Leon and Marcus were resting their hands on their knees, panting.

"How did you do that?" Leon asked, gasping for air.

"Do what?" Falco asked with a chuckle.

"That teleporting thing." Leon asked, now regaining his breath more and fully standing up, "Are you a teleporter?"

"Of course not," Falco said, smiling with pride once more, "I just moved at an incredibly high speed."

"Amazing." Marcus said, "And I thought I was fast."

Falco shook his head and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he spoke to both of the warriors with less pride in his voice and more as their master.

"Listen to me," he said with a voice of authority, "from now on, your definitions of speed, strength, and overall skill will completely change. This is no longer a kid's game or a self-defense class. This is the real deal. From now on, you fight to become warriors!"

Marcus and Leon were both beaming. Falco looked more like a flaming phoenix than an ordinary avian bird with the sun shining on him in the arena and he sounded like a true master. They couldn't believe this was actually happening. This man was treating them like they were cadets and not like they were kids. They both nodded and reentered the arena, getting back into their positions.

"Now," Falco said, getting into his own fighting position with his wings extended behind him, "come at me!"

"RIGHT!" Marcus and Leon both yelled.

And with that, the three continued their battle.

END OF PART 1

* * *

 **So I've never actually done an "Authors Note", but since this is the end of Part One, I thought I might as well do it to give thanks to readers and give information on the next part so, here it goes!**

 **(Authors Note)**

 **Well, looks like this is it for Part One of my story.**

 **First off, I want to thank everybody who read this and gave me words of encouragement through reviews and PMs. It means a lot to writers to have their readers say they like the story, and can't wait to see where it goes.**

 **I also wanted to thank everybody who gave me actual criticism and helpful advice. It's important for a writer to know what he's doing right, but it's way more important that he knows what to fix and work on in his overall writing.**

 **As for information on Part Two. Seeing that I still need to edit the crap out of it, the first chapter will be posted on February 17, and I'll be posting one chapter every Wednesday. I know that's one less per week compared to this story's schedule, but I don't want to rush it.**

 **By the way, this whole thing was inspired by the author Xengo. He writes Fox/Krystal romances, and reading his stories actually inspired me to write a Star Fox Fan Fiction of my own. Read and Favorite ALL OF HIS STORIES! He's an amazing writer, and the least I can do is make a shout out to him.**

 **Anyway, to my readers, THANK YOU ALL. This has been a really fun project for me, and I can't WAIT to see where it goes in the future.**

 **Good night, and God bless all of you!**


	14. Chapter 14

**IT'S BACK!**

 **(side note: If you have not read Part One yet, please do so before reading this story. Otherwise this story will not male any sense whatsoever.)**

* * *

Part 2: The Rebirth of Star Fox

Chapter 1: Memories and Graduation

Since the day they began training with Falco, Marcus and Leon fought each other three times every day along with intense workouts. Leon concentrated more and more on his strength, honing the power from his warrior blood, while Marcus got faster and faster, focusing on his mind and strengthening his psychic resolve. The two boys soon went from strong fighters to deadly forces of nature.

Today, Marcus and Leon were once again fighting each other, but it was no longer a fight between two tough kids in a forest clearing, but a battle between true warriors in a real arena. Marcus jumped in the air and brought his leg down on Leon, forcing him to block the attack. Before Leon could withdraw, Marcus unleashed a barrage of kicks at a speed so fast, it was almost invisible to the naked eye. Leon quickly managed to grab one of Marcus's legs, but the vulpine easily countered and sent his other one right at Leon's unguarded face, however the lupine quickly let go of Marcus's leg and barely blocked his attack. Leon tried to grab Marcus again, but the vulpine quickly withdrew and got back into his fighting position. Leon got into his own, and the two starred each other down.

Falco put a wing under his chin and narrowed his eyes as he watched the two boys glare at each other. Eight years had passed since Falco began molding the boys into the soldiers they had become, and the old bird noticed how much his pupils had changed. Marcus grew much taller and was now the same height as his father. Leon had grown as well and now stood about six inches above both his brother and his father. They were both thin and lean, but also bore muscle that bulged from their arms and legs. Falco on the other hand had simply gotten older, and his feathers had begun to lose some of their color, making him look more sky blue than regular blue.

Leon quickly broke the stare down and began charging at his brother, but Marcus quickly put his right index and middle finger on his forehead, launching a telepathic attack. Leon stopped and closed his eyes, gritting his teeth while Marcus did the same, and the two began struggling in a mind war.

After his incident with the bandits, Leon had been told about his so-called telepathic resistance by Falco, who encouraged the boy to unlock and control the power. Leon began attending the telepathic class that his mother had set up with his brother, and he soon began to practice his unique ability. It turned out that, indeed, Leon had a telepathically resistant mind, but it relied on his own willpower, which could be broken by his brothers' power. Marcus began using his telepathic abilities to the full, and his psychic resolve was so great, even Leon's mind sometimes gave in.

Leon opened his eyes, and Marcus suddenly took his fingers off his forehead, signaling the end of the little mind war. Leon had won, and Marcus's attack failed to enter the lupine's mind. Leon resumed his charge towards Marcus, who was now breathing heavily, tired from the mind war. Leon took both of his claws and began slashing away at Marcus, forcing the vulpine to dodge the attacks. Although Leon could anticipate Marcus's movements with his own instincts, the vulpine moved with such speed that he could not keep up. Marcus continued to dodge the attacks and he saw his brother snarl with anger. Believing he had Leon by the ropes, Marcus smiled and quickly moved behind Leon, ready to attack from behind.

Marcus pulled his arm back threw a punch to the back of Leon's head, intent on dazing the lupine, but Leon tilted his head, barely dodging the attack, and grabbed Marcus's arm without needing to turn around. Marcus's smile disappeared and was replaced with a startled gaze.

"Oh crap!" Marcus thought to himself.

"You took too much time to throw that punch." Leon said without turning around, "You shouldn't have been so greedy."

Marcus became desperate and was about to deliver another strong punch with his other arm, but Leon quickly used his own free arm to deliver an elbow right into the side of Marcus's hip, knocking all of the wind out of him. Leon spun Marcus around using only one of his arms and threw the vulpine out of bounds, giving him the victory. Marcus sat up, breathing heavily from the last attack.

"Dang it!" Marcus said out loud, "I almost had you with that last attack."

"You shouldn't slow down," Falco said with his wings crossed, "your speed is your greatest advantage. Use it to the fullest."

"But I need to work on my strength!" Marcus countered, "It's no good if my attacks are fast but have no effect."

Leon laughed and crossed his own arms.

"What are you talking about?" he said as he smiled to his brother, "Your blows are already more than strong enough. You can easily wear me down over time with your attacks."

Marcus shook his head.

"But I'm using too much energy." he started, "There's no since if I get worn down as well. Besides, if we're fighting other guys, I won't have the strength to take anyone else down."

"Well, other guys won't have telepathy resistance or the ability to determine where attacks are coming from." Leon said as he jumped out of the arena and walked over to Marcus, helping the vulpne up to his feet.

"So you're saying other guys won't be as strong as you?" Marcus said with a sarcastic tone as he rolled his eyes and glared at his brother.

"What I'm _saying,_ " Leon began with a more serious voice, "is that you shouldn't waste your speed for your strength when your speed is way better. Your strength is fine, and there's no since in trying to deliver stronger blows if it takes up too much time. If you want to get more strength," Leon smiled at Marcus again, "just lift some more."

Marcus sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, I guess that will work." he said as if he was guessing a problem on a test.

"Alright you two," Falco began as he walked over to the brothers, "that's more than enough for today."

"What!?" Marcus said loudly, "But that was only one fight! We can do a couple-

"We shouldn't have done _any._ " Falco said, looking at his cellular watch, "The ceremony is in four hours and you two need to be showered and in uniform in less than an hour."

Both of the boys rolled their eyes and let out a heavy groan.

"I hate those uniforms." they said in unison.

"Quit griping and get your showers." Falco demanded.

The two boys obeyed and used the gymnasium showers. When they finished, they got back into their clean clothes and the three warriors all climbed into Falco's car in order to get back to their house to change into their uniforms.

Both Marcus and Leon had been training to be pilots at the Cornarian academy since they turned thirteen. Although a pilot had to be eighteen to be certified, Marcus's piloting skill was so incredible and so ahead of his own age group that they were actually letting him graduate two years earlier at sixteen. Leon could have graduated a year ago, but he decided to wait in order to graduate with Marcus.

"You didn't have to wait you know." Marcus said while his eyes dropped and shifted to the bottom of the driver seat in front of him.

Leon sat up in his seat and turned to look at his brother.

Marcus's ears were down, and his voice was barely even audible. Leon realized that Marcus actually felt guilt about Leon's postponed graduation.

"I wanted to graduate with you." Leon said with a soft smile, "It's no biggy. Besides, I really wanted to be with my little bro at the ceremony."

Marcus grimaced while his eyes closed and his head dropped even lower to his legs.

"Please don't call me that." he said, "I feel like a little kid."

"Well you sure act like a little kid." Leon said as he playfully nudged his brother.

Marcus laughed.

"Look who's talking!" he said, "You can't even graduate without your brother!"

"Hey," Leon started as he smiled at Marcus, "if you went anywhere without me, you'd be screwed. It's a big brother's job to protect his little brother."

"Oh, whatever." Marcus said as he smiled back at Leon, "You're only slightly better than me at fighting, but I'm a better pilot and you know it."

Leon said nothing and looked out the window, still smiling. He had to admit that Marcus was a legendary pilot, but that didn't keep him from worrying about Marcus like always.

Falco was listening to the boy's conversation, and he suddenly spoke,

"Are we still going with the original plan?" Falco asked.

Marcus smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, that's not changing no matter what." Marcus said.

"The vote's unanimous." Leon added.

Falco smiled and nodded.

"Alright," he said, "but I'm getting a bit old for this. You two will have to do most of the work you know."

"More work the better!" Marcus said jubilantly.

"As long as we're still a team." Leon said, putting an arm on Marcus's shoulder.

When the three arrived at the McCloud residence, Marcus and Leon began getting ready for the ceremony. Krystal helped the boys get their hair done properly while Fox helped them with their ties. The uniform wasn't too fancy. It was made up of black dress plants, black dress shoes, a blue suite with yellow buttons, a white button up, a black belt, a red tie, and the green Cornarian flight cap with the Cornarian symbol. Of course, the only thing the boys could think about with the uniforms was how hot they were.

Krystal was helping Marcus with his hair inside her bedroom. She finished combing it and smiled at him. She couldn't believe how much he had grown up, and the fact that she was getting him ready for his flight graduation was astounding to her.

"You look so old." she said as she cupped his cheeks in her hands.

Marcus smiled.

"Had to grow up sooner or later mom." he said.

Krystal pulled Marcus in for a tight hug, wondering how she was going to let her little pup go into such a big and dangerous world.

" _Please_ be safe out there." She whispered to him, trying her hardest not to tear up, but Marcus could tell she was clearly upset.

A smile grew on Marcus's face as he tightened his hug, trying to comfort his mother. The two had spent so much time with each other. The hours upon hours of telepathy class that Marcus had was more than just an educational experience, but an opportunity for real bonding with his mother. Every time he practiced with her, he could actually feel his mind connecting with her own like the gluing of two pieces to one great machine that made up their mother-son relationship.

"I'll have Leon with me." Marcus said, trying to assure his mother of his own safety, "We'll look after each other, protect each other. Neither one of us will be alone."

"Oh, you two are so reckless." Krystal said, breaking away from her hug and putting both of her hands on her son's shoulders. She looked right into his eyes with a half-smile, while her own eyes were red and squinted.

Marcus sighed and his eyes dropped, but he still smiled.

"We're smart when we need to be," Marcus said, still trying to lower his mother's anxiety, "and things are much safer than when you and dad were still flying. It'll be okay mom, really. It's not like we're entering a war or something."

"Yes, but the galaxy is _very_ unpredictable." Krystal said as she sniffled and wiped her eyes. She sounded more like a teacher than a worried mother, "You never know what you'll meet in the vast darkness of space. Always remember that Marcus, and you'll never be caught off guard."

Marcus gave a soft chuckle.

"You sound just like Falco." he said.

"Then I'm glad to see he's been teaching you." Krystal said while she let go of Marcus. She then headed for the bedroom door and indicated for Marcus to follow her.

"C'mon," Krystal said, "let's find Falco and head out. You'll both be late if we don't leave now."

During this whole time, Leon had been getting ready for the ceremony as well. He was wearing the exact same uniform that Marcus had on and was just now getting help from his father with his tie.

"It's a good thing I've been to meetings," Fox said with a chuckle, "otherwise I wouldn't know how to tie this myself."

"You dropped out from the academy right?" Leon asked.

Fox nodded.

"That's how I formed Star Fox." Fox said without shame, "It was never really recognized by the Cornarian military until later of course, but it still served its purpose."

Leon's body shifted uncomfortably and he cleared his throat.

"Is it…weird that your son's are graduating?" Leon asked, feeling a bit rude for asking such a personal question.

Fox shook his head and smiled with pride at Leon.

"Not even a little bit." he said, "In fact, I'm glad you two finished your training. The more education the better, and you'll have much better chances than I had."

Leon sighed with relief, seeing that his father was being completely honest with him. Over the past eight years, the two had grown more and more with each other. Leon no longer had any thought about whether or not it was okay to call Fox his father and had completely accepted his new family. In fact, he and Fox would often times laugh about their first encounter, seeing how absurd the whole situation was. Fox had said that he was even glad it happened, for he would have never met Leon otherwise.

Fox finished Leon's tie and looked up at him, smiling.

"You've sure grown a lot haven't you?" Fox said.

Leon smiled back at him, but then he looked down at his feet, feeling a little off balanced. Fox's smile disappeared, and he tilted his head and raised his eyebrows at his son.

"You look nervous," Fox said, "what are you thinking about?"

Leon quickly changed his expression and looked at his father with a smile, trying to look normal.

"It's nothing." Leon said.

Fox's eyes dropped and he gave Leon an inquisitive stare.

"Alright," he said, "what's wrong? I can tell you're lying."

"It's not like that." Leon said, "It just…feels so weird."

"What feels weird?" Fox asked curiously as he crossed his arms.

Leon sighed heavily.

"Since I met you," Leon began, "I felt like my real life actually began, and everything before that is just a blur. All my other memories are so vague and unclear but this family… it feels so real."

Fox smiled warmly at Leon and nodded.

"There's nothing wrong with that feeling Leon," Fox said, "family is a very natural thing to have. There's no reason anyone should grow up alone."

"I know," Leon said, "but now…"

Leon shifted his body until his back was facing Fox. Fox's smile disappeared, but it returned when he realized what was bothering Leon.

"Now you two are _leaving._ " Fox finished for Leon.

Leon turned to face Fox again. His ears were down, and he wore a disturbed expression.

"It'll be weird without you guys." Leon said.

Fox nodded, but then walked over to Leon's side and put a hand on his back, leading him outside the house. While they walked, Fox spoke to him.

"Leon," Fox said, "every man has to grow up and leave his family. In fact, you and Marcus are more fortunate than others, because you two brothers will be staying together."

Leon nodded, and the two walked outside and waited for Krystal, Marcus, and Falco.

"But here's the most important thing Leon." Fox said as he shifted from Leon's side in order to face him, "Just because you leave one family, it does not mean you will never have another one. Someday, whether its five years from now or ten years from now, you'll meet a girl down the road. You two will fall in love with each other, get married, and then start another family. You might not think much about it now, but that's _exactly_ what'll happen."

"Is that what happened to you?" Leon asked Fox with a smile, but he still looked a bit uncomfortable.

Fox smiled and nodded.

"I met Krystal under the most unexpected circumstances." Fox said, "I was still a pilot, not to mention I was eight years older, but I still had feelings for her. It took me a while to finally express myself, but when I did, she told me she felt the same way."

Leon nodded again, but this time his ears perked up as if he had heard Fox say something particularly interesting.

"Wait, how did you express yourself to her?" he asked curiously.

Fox blushed a little and began scratching the back of his head.

"Well uh…" Fox said, stammering a little, "That's a long story Leon and um… I'll have to tell you some other time."

Leon laughed, realizing that the story must have been an embarrassing one.

"Ok dad," he said still laughing, "we'll wait. It must be a crazy story though."

"Yeah…I don't really want to talk about it." Fox said, looking away from Leon.

Leon shook his head and looked away chuckling. He could tell his parents loved each other, but the idea that they expressed themselves to each other under circumstances that embarrassed Fox actually made Leon laugh. He could only imagine what had happened.

Fox smiled to himself as he thought back to the incident so many years ago. He actually remembered it perfectly. He flashed back, seeing a much younger version of himself sitting down on his bed in his room aboard the Great Fox, and Krystal (who Fox thought looked just as young as she looked now) was sitting on a chair, talking to him as he stared blankly at his floor. For the past week, Fox had been thinking only about Krystal and his last mission. Nearing the end of the mission, Krystal's arwing had been hit, causing one of the wings to catch on fire, which spread to her cockpit. Miraculously, she managed to fly back to the Great Fox and land safely, but not before she got a few burns and inhaled some smoke. Fox flew back to the Great Fox as well and he quickly pulled her out of the cockpit, feeling like he was about to have a heart attack. She had already passed out from inhaling too much smoke, so Fox quickly took her to the medical ward where she was put on a respirator. She survived without any life changing injuries, but that didn't keep Fox from becoming extremely paranoid as he always did.

"Fox," Krystal began with a concerned voice, not taking her eyes off of the vulpine, "You need to tell me what's going-

"You scarred the hell out of me." Fox interrupted with a plain voice, "When I saw your ship get hit, my heart jumped into my throat."

Krystal closed her eyes and gave a small nod.

"Okay, but that's happened with everyone more than once," she replied, "there's no reason you should-

"Don't do that." Fox interrupted again, looking at Krystal with wider eyes.

"Don't do what Fox?" Krystal said, now feeling a little annoyed by Fox's unreasonableness, "Everybody gets their arwing damaged. It happens, okay?"

"That doesn't matter!" Fox said a little more loudly, getting up from his bed and walking away towards his wall with his back facing Krystal.

Krystal was taken a little bit off-guard by Fox's sudden change of tone, but she was more concerned about him than anything else. She got up from her chair and walked over to him.

"Fox," Krystal began again with a calm voice, "you _need_ to tell me what's wrong. Everybody else has been hit, but you never act this way when it happens. So why are you doing this now?"

Fox didn't answer, and Krystal put a hand on his shoulder, causing him to blush in the face and tense up.

"You can tell me Fox." she said with a smile.

"No, Krystal, I can't…" Fox paused, turning his head to look at the ground.

"You can't what?" Krystal said, her smile disappearing.

There was another silence, and Krystal stepped closer to Fox until she was right behind him. Fox blushed some more, and Krystal could feel his anxiety and fear begin to rise as she got closer, but the only reason she didn't withdraw was because she began to feel…something else within him. Something else she had felt before. Something that she always wanted to have spark and turn into a blazing fire. She moved her hand from his shoulder and grabbed his hand.

"Fox," Krystal began with a warm voice and smile, "it's okay to-

"I can't do this." Fox interrupted with a choked up voice.

Krystal's smile disappeared, and she could see the tears rolling down Fox's cheeks.

"I… I can't do this anymore." Fox said again as he looked at Krystal with red, watery eyes, "I can't watch you get hurt like that. If you had died I would have… would have…"

"But I'm not dead Fox!" Krystal said as she took Fox's other hand and smiled brightly at him, "I'm right here, right in front of you."

Fox's blush turned a little more scarlet, and he looked down to avoid looking her in the eyes. But it wasn't that he was appalled by her. It was almost as if he was so scared at the thought of losing her that he would rather just ignore her altogether. Krystal took a deep breath and looked down as well, preparing herself to say something she had wanted to say for a very long time.

"And if there's something you want to tell me Fox," Krystal began as she looked up at him with another smile, "now's the time. Because weather you like it or not, I won't be here forever. So tell me now."

Fox swallowed hard and looked up at Krystal's face. For the longest time, he simply opened and closed his mouth without saying a word, until he finally let the words slip out of his mouth.

"I can't stop thinking about you." he began, "Ever since I rescued you I… I don't know why but… I just thought about you so much. You were in so much pain and it… it hurt to see you like that. It hurt so much to see you suffering. You… you don't deserve that Krystal. You don't deserve to get hurt like that. You don't ever deserve any of that."

Krystal eyes and mouth were wide open. She was completely speechless.

"And…" Fox began again, tightly closing his eyes, "And all you had was a clueless, mercenary scumbag to comfort you. You deserve more than that Krystal. You deserve more than me. You deserve more than any of this. I-I'm so sorry Krystal. I can never-

Before Fox could finish his sentence, Krystal wrapped both of her arms around his neck and kissed him fiercely in one lighting movement. Fox was initially taken of guard and, instinctively, he put both of his hands on her shoulders as if to push her away.

But he didn't.

Instead, he simply stood there with wide eyes and his hands on both of her shoulders for a few seconds while she kissed him deeply. As Fox's mind coped with the situation and began to understand what was going on, he closed his eyes and put one arm on her back and another behind her head as he deepened their kiss.

Krystal could feel a few tears of joy form at the corners of her eyes and fall gently down her cheek as if love was literally pouring from her body. She let out a soft moan of pleasure and put both of her hands behind his head. She didn't remember how long it lasted, but she knew that it was one of the happiest moments in her life.

Krystal let go of Fox's lips and let out a small sigh of satisfaction. When she opened her eyes again, Krystal laughed at Fox's face of pure bewilderment.

"What?" Krystal said with a smile as she stopped laughing, "Is it so surprising?"

Fox simply starred at her dumbly, and Krystal moved one of her paws to his cheek and softly pressed it.

"I've always loved you Fox." Krystal said softly.

Fox's continued to stare at her blankly for a few seconds, but then his face blushed immensely as he formed an awkward smile and began nervously laughing.

"You've… You've always loved me?" Fox asked.

"Fox, I've been praying for this for such a long time." Krystal said as she closed her eyes and softly pressed her forehead against his.

Fox's smile broadened as he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead back.

Back in the present, Leon was trying to get his father's attention.

"Hey…dad?" Leon said, waving a hand in front of his father's face, which was smiling with closed eyes.

"Dad!" Leon yelled, flicking his father's head with his fingers, which caused Fox to suddenly open his eyes with a startled look on his face.

"C'mon old man, wake up." Leon said.

"Uh, yes Leon?" Fox said, looking at Leon's face which now had a curios smile on it.

"What was that all about?" Leon asked, putting a paw under his chin, "You looked like you were in dreamland."

"It's nothing." Fox said, smiling at Leon, "Just revisiting some old memories."

Leon raised an eyebrow at his father.

"Well, those must be some good memories." he said sarcastically.

"Oh, you have no idea." Fox answered him, looking away while still smiling.

Before they could talk about anything else, Marcus and Krystal walked out with Falco following them. The five piled into Falco's car and began their trip to the graduation ceremony. When they arrived about two hours later, Marcus and Leon headed to the area were the rest of their fellow students were while Fox, Krystal and Falco took their own seats in the audience. Marcus and Leon found their class and took their seats right next to their teacher. The whole ceremony was taking place in the large plaza outside the main Cornarian Flight Academy. Although Marcus and Leon had gone to a much smaller campus with only one classroom, they were all tied to the same military training program. Marcus gaped at all of the other pilots around him.

"Holy smokes," Marcus whispered to Leon, trying to conceal his voice while the head of the academy gave his speech, "I didn't know there were so many other pilots graduating."

"There are several campuses." Leon replied, also whispering, "Our class only had eight students, but all of them combined makes up about five hundred pilots."

"Dang," Marcus whispered, "I didn't realize there were so many."

"You two keep quiet!" their teacher whispered with a stern voice, "Do you want our class to get a bad reputation?"

"Sorry Mr. Spear." Leon whispered.

Mr. Spear was a chimpanzee who had been teaching pilots before Marcus had been born. He had brown fur that was riddled with several gray hairs from his old age. Although many of the other students considered him to be nothing more than an old crank, Marcus and Leon regarded him with the highest form of respect. Ninety percent of the knowledge they had on flying had come from their teacher, and the brothers were more than happy about having a veteran teach them the art of being a military pilot.

Each class went in order from smallest to largest. The largest classes went first and had up to fifty students in each one. The mid-sized classes had about twenty to thirty students each. Marcus and Leon's class went last, with only six other students in it. Leon and Marcus, along with the rest of the students in the Ucara flight academy, followed Mr. Spear up to the front stand. Marcus let out a heavy sigh before he got up, and there was a huge swarm of butterflies in his stomach.

"Don't overthink it," Krystal said to Marcus using her telepathy, "it's not like you're giving a speech. It'll be ok."

Marcus calmed down a bit, and Leon nudged his shoulder and smiled at him. Marcus's empathetic powers had already connected with Leon, and the two could always sense each other's emotions. Leon could probably sense Marcus's anxiety from a mile away. Marcus awkwardly smiled back and Leon winked at him. In all honesty, Marcus was now really glad that he was graduating with Leon by his side.

When the students got into their positions, Mr. Spear went to the mic, cleared his throat, and gave his own speech. To Marcus's relief, he never mentioned that one of his students was graduating two years earlier. Marcus already felt nervous about being in front of so many people, but the last thing he wanted was to be singled out so everybody could look at him. He didn't want any other pilot to regard him with jealousy because he was an early bird (which a few fellow students in his own class had already done).

After Mr. Spear finished, he walked of the stage with the rest of his class following him. Marcus sighed with relief, glad that the ceremony was about to end. The head of the academy gave one more speech, and with that, the students and audience were dismissed. When Marcus and Leon got up from their seats, the two brothers walked over to their parents. Krystal, beaming with joy, embraced Leon with a tight hug while Fox wrapped his own arms around Marcus.

"I'm so proud of you two." Fox said with a choked up voice while he hugged Marcus.

Falco smiled and walked over to the happy family. While he did so, Marcus let go of Fox and walked over to Falco, who was extending his hand for a handshake. Marcus completely ignored the gesture and hugged Falco like his father. Falco's eyes and mouth shot open in surprise, but instead of pushing Marcus back or getting annoyed like he usually did with hugs, Falco simply smiled and hugged Marcus back, closing his eyes.

"Congratulations pilot." Falco said to him.

"Aw, that's so sweet!" Krystal said as she let go of Leon, who was walking over to Falco and Marcus.

Marcus let go of Falco and went to embrace his mother. While he did so, Leon walked over to Falco and offered him his hand with a smile. Falco smiled back and didn't hesitate to shake Leon's hand.

"Thank you for everything." Leon said to him, "We wouldn't have made it this far without you."

"Ah, you two would have been fine." Falco said, "An aging bird can't do that much."

Fox walked over to the two, and Leon went to go hug his brother. With a warm smile, Fox offered his old friend his hand, and Falco shook it, smiling back at him.

"You've done more for them than you know." Fox said.

Falco laughed.

"Well, it won't end here." he said.

"You'll keep an eye on both of them right?" Fox asked, still smiling.

"Two eyes," Falco said letting go of Fox's hand and pointing his wing, "like a bird watching his prey."

Fox nodded, still smiling.

"Good luck out there." Fox said.

Falco chuckled.

"Yeah," he said, "I'll need it more than the other two, trust me."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 2: A New Crew Member

"So, this is the road you two are going down huh?" Mr. Spear said to Marcus and Leon.

Two weeks had passed since the graduation ceremony. During that time, Marcus and Leon had been preparing to make their final leave to start their careers as Arwing pilots. The two brothers were now back in their old classroom and were speaking to their teacher, who was sitting in his chair with his fingers interlocked and his elbows resting on his wooden desk.

"Yes sir," Marcus said, "we're going to join Star Fox."

With a heavy sigh, Mr. Spear put one of his hands on the desk while resting his chin on the other one. He closed his eyes and slowly twisted his grey beard, pondering on what his best students were about to do.

"You two need to understand," Mr. Spear began again, with a more somber tone, "that the program isn't a real part of the military." He opened his eyes and gave a low, piercing stare into both of the boy's eyes.

Marcus nodded without smiling.

"We understand sir, but we want to act more freely as a unit. If we start in the regular military, we won't have nearly as much opportunity to work since we're at peace."

"We also want to work together." Leon added and Marcus nodded again.

"Oh, well isn't that a surprise?" Mr. Spear said sarcastically as if he had heard it a hundred times, and the chimpanzee grunted as he stood up from his chair.

Mr. Spear laid his hands on his table and glared at both of his best students. He was not exactly angry with them, but he knew the dangers of taking such an action, and he was concerned for their well-being more than anything else. He took a deep breath through his nose and began his lecture.

"Alright now listen, because I don't think you two understand what the consequences of this will be. First off, both of you are in the top ten list of best pilots, so the academy won't be happy to hear this. Second, you'll be working as a mercenary unit, which means you won't have any support from the military, which means any situation you two get yourselves in will be your own problem and you won't be able to call in support."

"Falco will be our captain," Marcus said, trying to reassure his teacher, "he'll be choosing our missions for us."

Their teacher nodded and then he walked over to the two boys. Without smiling, he extended his hand to both of them. Leon shook it first and Marcus followed, a small smile breaking out on his face.

"Then I guess this is where we part." Mr. Spear said with a somber voice as always.

"So you approve?" Leon asked.

Mr. Spear gave a large huff.

"You two are pilots now. You don't need my approval in the first place."

"But we can still get your advice." Marcus said.

"Well, personally I would just go with the military since it's much more practical. Any other pilot and I would forbid it, but you two can handle yourselves, especially with and old war hero like Falco leading you. You'll be able to do more work outside the military so you'll definitely have a bigger impact, but it's dangerous. Just don't bite off more than you can chew."

Leon saluted his teacher and Marcus followed.

"Thank you for your advice sir." Leon said.

"You can ignore the formality pilot." Mr. Spear said with an agitated tone, "I'm not your head officer anymore."

"Thank you anyway." Marcus said, and then nodded at his brother, indicating for them to leave, and the two boys headed for the door.

"Leon," Mr. Spear said, causing both of the boys to turn around, "there's something I need to give to you. Marcus you can leave."

Marcus nodded.

"I'll wait for you outside." he said to Leon, and with that he left the room.

Leon turned around to face his teacher with a look of curiosity on his face. Mr. Spear walked over to his desk and opened the bottom draw. He pulled out a small cardboard box without any packaging information on it and walked back over to Leon.

"Who's it from?" Leon asked as he received the box from his teacher.

"I don't know." Mr. Spear said with an unchanging tone.

Leon tilted his head in confusion.

"It was on my desk one day about two years ago." he said, "At first, I was very unsure about it, seeing that the person must have broken in to put it there, but there was no sign of forced entry. When I looked at the box, it had a note on it that read 'give this to Leon when he graduates' so I guess you could say it's a graduation gift."

"But you don't know who it's from?" Leon asked, only looking more confused.

Mr. Spear shook his head.

"No, I'm afraid not, but I checked the contents. It's safe to open."

Leon looked down at the box and noticed that it had been resealed. Using his claws, he tore the tape off and opened the box. Leon's eyes widened as he picked up the device that the box was holding. It was a large, bulky handgun. The bulkiness of the design indicated that it was custom made. It also contained two blades right underneath the nozzle of the weapon that Leon assumed were meant to act like a bayonet.

"That's no ordinary weapon." Mr. Spear said with a half-smile as he saw Leon's look of astonishment, "I've already given it a test drive myself. Completely custom made. Short ranged, semi-automatic, so accuracy is valued. The blades right underneath the nozzle are made of solid steel, and it's not blunt either. There's no ammo in it right now, but it carries plasma rounds that are capable of melting through the thickest armor. You can't find a weapon like it on the market."

"You said this was custom made?"

Mr. Spear nodded.

"I would take good care of it if I were you."

Leon looked back at his weapon. His look of bewilderment and excitement slowly turned into one of suspicion, as his eyes dropped and his mouth closed.

"Why would someone give me this?" he said quietly "And why wouldn't they give their name?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about that." Mr. Spear said with a reassuring tone, "Whoever did it had their reasons, and I'm sure you'll meet them down the road."

Leon softly nodded, but his expression was unchanging.

"Here," Mr. Spear said, pulling a belt and holster out of the bottom of the box, "it came with this too. Go ahead and put it on."

Leon took the belt from his teacher's hands and wrapped it around his waist. He then fitted the blaster right into the holster on his right side. Even the holster itself was custom made with two cushion like covers that concealed the blades when the weapon was holstered.

"I'm afraid that's all I can give you." he said with a small sigh, "You may go now Leon."

Before leaving, Leon shook hands with his teacher and thanked him one last time. When he walked outside the building, Marcus was waiting for him with his hands in his pockets.

"So," Marcus said, addressing his brother with a big smile, "what did he give you?"

"This." Leon said, upholstering the blaster.

Marcus's smile disappeared as he gaped at the weapon with wide eyes. He then smiled with his mouth open.

"He gave you a blaster!?" Marcus said with excitement, "That's so awesome looking! I've never seen one like that before!"

"Yeah, it's pretty neat." Leon plainly said without looking at his brother as he holstered the weapon and walked down the staircase that lead to the sidewalk. Marcus's smile disappeared and he looked at his brother with concern.

"What's wrong?" Marcus asked while he walked with Leon, "Do you not like it?"

"No, it's great it's just…" Leon said pausing, but then he started again, "It's just that I don't know who gave it to me."

Marcus tilted his head.

"What do you mean?" he said, "Didn't Mr. Spear make it for you?"

Leon shook his head.

"He said he found the package on his desk two years ago with a note saying it should be given to me at my graduation." Leon explained, "It doesn't really make since."

Marcus's look changed as he put a hand underneath his chin. He stopped when he reached the bottom of the steps and Leon stopped as well.

"Well, maybe it's from a classmate." he finally said.

"Maybe," Leon said as he began walking again, "or someone else."

Marcus followed him and his ears perked up with Leon's last sentence.

"But who else would-

Marcus was suddenly interrupted by another voice.

"Hey, hey, hey, where do you two think you're going?" a friendly voice said.

Both of the boys suddenly turned to see who was talking. A figure was leaning against the building with his arms and legs crossed. He was wearing an orange flight suite with a black backpack strapped onto his shoulders. A belt was strapped around him, holstering two blasters on each side of his waist. His head was bent down and a black cowboy hat was hiding his face.

The figure slowly turned his head upwards, revealing a smiling raccoon. Large grins formed across Marcus and Leon's faces and their tails began to wag as they noticed it was a fellow classmate and a friend.

"Coby!" Marcus said as he walked over and hugged the raccoon, who was no longer leaning against the building and was now standing up.

Marcus and Leon had been paired up with Coby during their flight simulation missions in the past. Although the teams were paired randomly, the first mission that the pilots flew was a rounding success, and the three of them decided to stay together. Compared to Marcus and Leon's flying, Coby was just an average pilot, but his mechanics and engineering skill was incredible. In fact, on his first mission with Marcus and Leon, Coby identified three technical errors with each of the simulated Arwings that the students weren't supposed to catch. When it came to repairs and modifications, Coby was at the top of his game.

Marcus and Leon quickly became friends with Coby. Although engineering wasn't something they were really interested or excelled in (neither one could even properly fish), Coby was the exact kind of person who they would befriend. Cunning, brave, and of course an odd ball, Coby fit right in with the warrior brothers. When the brothers first asked him why he wore the hat, Coby struck a smug smile and simply said it was his style. With that one line, Marcus and Leon immediately befriended the raccoon.

"Why haven't you joined the military?" Marcus said while he let go of Coby with an excited look on his face, "We figured you would have left by now."

Coby struck a prideful smile at both of the brothers.

"What, and leave Star Fox and you two morons without an engineer?"

Both Marcus and Leon looked at Coby with looks of surprise, causing the raccoon to laugh.

"Oh come on, are you really that surprised? Of course I knew."

"But, how?" Leon asked as he walked over to stand next to his brother.

"Well, it wasn't exactly a riddle. You two numskulls have been talking about the program since our first mission together, and you've been training with the programs recent leader and previous second-in-command Falco, and your father is the programs previous leader, and-

"Alright, alright," Leon interrupted, sounding annoyed, "we get it. You don't have to rub it in."

Marcus laughed, realizing how stupid it was to be surprised.

"Yeah, I guess it should have been pretty obvious huh?" he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Still though," Leon said, crossing his arms, "that doesn't explain why you're here."

Coby smiled, and crossed his own arms.

"Didn't you hear me?" he said, "I'm going with you two."

Both Marcus and Leon just starred at Coby, but then their expressions turned into ones of uncertainty and doubt.

"Coby," Marcus said as he looked at the ground with guilt "you don't have to-

"No Marcus," Coby said, still smiling, "I'm going with you two, and that's final."

"Coby look," Leon said, starring at the ground with his eyes closed, "this isn't something you just sign up for. It's dangerous, way more dangerous than the military. It's not a-

"Do you two really think I can't handle it?" Coby said, now frowning, "Look, we can all handle ourselves and you both know it. You also know you need a mechanic, and unless you're willing to find another engineer to join your team, you better let me in."

"But why do you want to join?" Marcus asked.

Coby rolled his eyes and groaned.

"You can't be serious." He said, putting a hand on his face, and then he looked up at both of the brothers with an annoyed expression, "Is it really _that_ weird that I want to join? We flew dozens of missions in the past together and there's no way I'm going to go find another team to join. You two aren't the only ones who can fight, and you're certainly not the only ones who can fly. Yes, you two are both better pilots, but your Arwings won't last long at all without somebody to maintain them."

"Look," Leon began again, "it's not that-

"Alright!" Marcus interrupted, smiling with excitement, "Welcome to the team Coby!"

"Wait, what!?" Leon said, looking at his brother, who looked back at him with a large smile with his eyes closed.

"What?" Marcus said, opening his eyes while still smiling, "He's right, we need an engineer. If he wants to join he can, but I thought he was doing it out of obligation."

Coby laughed.

"Yeah right, as if I owe you two anything. We all contributed in our missions together. I just want to stick with my old team."

Leon looked down and sighed heavily with his eyes closed.

"Well," he said, "I guess I can't stop you. But this is dangerous Coby."

"I'm carrying two blasters on my belt right now." Coby said sarcastically, "Do you honestly think _danger_ is something I try to avoid?"

Leon chuckled and nodded, but then his ears perked up at Coby's words which reminded him of something else.

"Speaking of blasters," Leon said, pulling his own handgun out of its holster and showing it to Coby, "did you make this for me?"

Coby picked the device out of Leon's hands and began examining it. A smile spread across his face as he felt the steel blades underneath the nozzle.

"That's not my handiwork," Coby said as he handed the weapon back to Leon, "but that is one fine piece of weaponry. There's no way I could make something of that high quality."

"I see." Leon said, holstering the weapon.

Coby's smile disappeared.

"So you don't know who made it for you?" Coby asked.

"Yeah," Marcus said, "and I was thinking it was a classmate, but if it wasn't you, I don't think anyone else in our class would bother to make it."

Coby nodded in agreement.

"Well, regardless of that," Coby started again, smiling, "you're lucky to have that gun. One of that quality is hard to come across."

Leon nodded, but then suddenly changed the subject.

"We should probably head back to the car." Leon said, "Falco's probably wondering what's taking us so long. When we start driving, you can follow us Coby."

Coby's mouth opened and his eyebrow lifted.

"What do you mean follow you?" he said, "I don't have a car."

Marcus and Leon both looked at Coby with baffled expressions.

"What?" Leon asked, sounding confused, "Than how did you get here?"

"Taxi." Coby plainly responded, "I told the driver to follow you guys."

"Taxi!?" Leon shouted with surprise, "Do you mean you stalked us, took a taxi, and then told it to follow our car? That's pretty creepy dude."

"How is that creepy?" Coby asked, "I just wanted to surprise you guys."

"How do you not have your own car anyway?" Leon asked, "You always brag about how you're some brilliant mechanic, but you don't even have a freaking car!"

"Why would I have a car?" Coby asked, sounding aggravated by Leon's last insult, "I can't even drive yet!"

"But you're eighteen!" Leon yelled, "Plus, you can fly a freaking Arwing! How is it even possible that you know how to do that, but you can't even drive!?"

"You don't need driving lessons in order to learn how to fly!" Coby fired back.

"Wait, this town has taxis?" Marcus suddenly asked, tilting his head with a curious look.

"THAT'S NOT RELEVANT!" both Coby and Leon yelled at Marcus.

The boy's argument was broken off by Leon's cellular watch suddenly going off. When he checked to see who the caller was, Leon's ears dropped and his hot rage was replaced with a swarm of nervous butterflies in his stomach.

Marcus felt Leon's nervousness and his ears also dropped.

"Uh oh…" Marcus weakly said, "Its Falco isn't it?"

"We've wasted too much time." Leon said, pressing the hang up button.

"Why did you hang up!?" Marcus asked, feeling even more in danger, "That's just going to make it worse!"

"Because we're leaving _right now_." Leon said.

Marcus nodded and the two of them began running.

"Wait a minute!" Coby yelled at them, causing them both to stop, "Where am I supposed to go!?"

"Oh for the love of…" Leon mumbled to himself, but then he yelled back, "Just come with us!"

"We have room in the car!" Marcus called out to him.

"You see? That's all you needed to say in the first place." Coby said to himself as he started running to catch up with his comrades.

Because the school parking lot was under construction, Falco had parked about a three minute walk away from the building. The boys arrived in about a third of the time and they quickly jumped into the backseat of the car.

"So!" Falco started, sounding impatient as he turned around to face the boys, "did you two finally-

Falco paused and his eyes widened when he saw Coby sitting in the middle seat, who simply gave him an awkward smile and tipped his hat.

Falco's eyes dropped low and he gave a humongous sigh.

"Why is there an outlaw in my car?" Falco said, not looking away from Coby.

"Uh…" Leon said dumbly, "Falco, this is-

"Coby Jane!" Coby interrupted, smiling while extending his paw out to Falco for a handshake, "Arwing pilot."

"Falco Lombardo…" Falco responded, slowly shaking Coby's hand, "May I ask why you're here…and why you look like a cowboy?"

"Coby's going to become the engineer for Star Fox!" Marcus said jubilantly with a large smile.

"And the hat," Coby began, tilting his hat again, "is just my style sir."

Falco looked at Coby, unimpressed and unconvinced.

"Alright," Falco began, pointing his wing at the raccoon, "now I don't know which one of my idiots authorized that you could be on this team-

"It was Marcus." Leon cut in, pointing his thumb at his brother while he looked downwards in the opposite direction.

Marcus crossed his arms and nodded with pride.

"I figured." Falco said under his breath while he closed his eyes, but he reopened them and pointed his wing back at Coby, "But I'm the leader of this team, and only I authorize who joins or not, and I don't just let any trigger-happy moron come on board."

"Falco," Marcus began, "me and Leon can both vouch for-

"Can it Marcus." Falco said sternly, glaring at the vulpine who looked away with shame, but Falco went back to address Coby, "Now I'm going to ask you some very simple questions and I want you to respond with simple answers, understood?"

"Yes sir!" Coby said smiling while he tipped his hat once more, but Falco's expression was unchanging.

"What's your rank out of all five hundred graduates?" Falco asked.

"Number one-hundred and sixteen sir." Coby responded.

Falco's eyes narrowed and he put a wing under his chin.

"Not bad," he said, "but I would typically aim for the top one-hundred."

"It's not _that_ far off." Marcus said, sounding impatient, "Besides, he's a good-

"Marcus!" Falco yelled at him, and Coby turned to shake his head at his friend, whose ears dropped as he looked away, feeling even more ashamed and embarrassed.

"Do you specialize in any other fields?" Falco asked the raccoon.

"Yes sir." Coby responded, looking back at Falco with another smile, "Mechanics and engineering. There isn't a weapon or vehicle that will go into disrepair under my watch sir."

Falco nodded.

"Alright, that's good. Anything else?"

"Yes sir, marksmanship and sharpshooting."

Falco's eyebrow rose in surprise.

"You a sniper?"

"Hardly sir." Coby said with a chuckle, "Handguns are my preference, but I do carry a medium-ranged lever action laser rifle on missions."

"Lever action?" Falco curiously asked.

"Yes sir!" Coby responded with pride, "My own design, along with my blasters."

Falco nodded again, and a small grin broke out on his face. Clearly he could see that this pilot was exuberant, the exact kind of material Star Fox needed, but he needed more insight before he could let the raccoon on the team.

"Alright," Falco said, looking at the blue vulpine who was still looking away with embarrassment, " _now_ you may give commentary Marcus. Why do you think he should join?"

Marcus's ears perked back up and he turned around with a large grin.

"He's the exact kind of pilot we need Falco." Marcus said, "And he's also a close friend. He's no ordinary engineer either. On our first mission, he found that the simulated Arwings had three technical problems that impaired flight, shields and even the weapons system. When he pointed them out to the overseer, he was completely stunned that Coby managed to identify them. It turned out that the whole program added those problems to test the pilot's ability to improvise in combat, and students weren't even _supposed_ to find the problems!"

"Is that true?" Falco asked the raccoon, who nodded with a smile of pride.

"He's also a good fighter." Leon added, turning away from the window with a smile of pride on his own face, "Not much of a close combat warrior like me and Marcus, but the guy can handle himself fine in a gun fight. You should see his quick draw."

Falco nodded one last time and then he turned away. He buckled in his seat-belt and started up the engine.

"Well," Falco said, "buckle up. It's time to head to the space port."

"So, that's a yes?" Coby said, still wearing a prideful smile while he buckled in his own seat-belt, and Marcus and Leon did the same.

Falco looked in the rear-view mirror and nodded.

"You're in for now," he said, "but I'll keep an eye on your flying abilities."

"You won't be disappointed sir." Coby said, tilting his hat while looking at the rear-view mirror.

"Alright!" Marcus said clapping his hands together with an excited look on his face, "We got an engineer!"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Hello and Goodbye

When they left the school, Falco and the three rookies arrived at the spaceport in the closest major city about four hours after their departure. Leon and Marcus pulled their duffle bags out from behind Falco's car while Coby started walking with Falco. When Leon and Marcus caught up with the other two, they entered the spaceport. Falco had seen the place many times before, but each of the boys gapped as they looked around at all of the spaceships coming and leaving the planet. Coby was having an especially fun time and he kept pointing out spaceships and giving their names and purposes like a child at the prehistoric museum. Merchant ships, commercial ships, tour ships, law-enforcement ships and even a few fancy VIP ships were just a few of the different types of vehicles that the pilots saw.

Marcus was examining a few fancily decorated personal transports that some high-class citizens were boarding, and then something occurred to him.

"There are no military spaceships here," Marcus said, "Where are they?"

"Are you kidding?" Coby said with a laugh, "There's no way they would put civilian and military ships in the same spaceport. The military spaceport isn't even in the city. It's somewhere far off in the Cornaria farmland, away from civilian life."

Marcus tilted his head in confusion.

"Then why are we here?" he asked, "I figured our ships would be in a military class spaceport."

"It's not that simple," Falco said without turning around, "Remember, Star Fox has been reduced to primarily a law-enforcement unit, so the military wouldn't accept any of its vehicles in its hanger."

"But doesn't that compromise safety?" Leon questioned, "The Arwings and the Great Fox are much more deadly than typical law-enforcement ships, not to mention the Land Masters."

Falco shook his head.

"Star Fox isn't anywhere near as militarily involved as it used to be," he said, almost with a little bit of disappointment in his voice, "It won't be targeted by any significant threat, so law-enforcement officials aren't too worried about having it in their spaceport."

Falco lead the four pilots onto an automatic transport connected to a monorail line that went all over the spaceport. When they boarded, the three rookies sat down while Falco began tampering with the screen on the transport. As soon as Falco finished, he sat down and buckled in. After all occupants were buckled in, the seatbelts locked and the safety procedure for the transport ended, allowing it to begin moving towards its destination.

"What were you doing with the screen?" Marcus asked as soon as the transport began moving.

"Typing in the coordinates for the Star Fox hanger," Falco answered him, "This monorail should take us right to it."

Marcus smiled and bounced in his seat like a child about to enter a theme park.

"I can't _wait_ to see the ships!" he said excitedly.

"I've always wanted to do this." Leon said, smiling as well, "Ever since I was a kid, getting out into space has been my dream."

"Same here." Coby added, smiling as well, "Finally get to leave this rock and get out into the rest of the galaxy. I just hope we can actually do some stuff."

"Oh don't worry." Falco said, smiling at the raccoon, "There's plenty of people who need help and plenty of criminals who need to learn some lessons. You'll have lots of opportunities. Trust me on that."

Marcus turned to Leon and noticed that, although the lupine looked excited, he also looked half bothered by something as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked away from Marcus. Marcus smiled and nudged his brother with his elbow.

"You're still letting that mystery gun donator bother you, right?" Marcus asked.

Leon looked at Marcus from the corner of his eye, and then he quickly looked away again. Marcus continued to smile and crossed his arms.

"Come on," Marcus said, "I know you're thinking about it."

Falco took notice of Marcus questioning Leon, and Leon being hesitant to answer.

"Thinking about what?" Falco asked with curiosity as he crossed his wings and looked at the brothers, "What are you two talking about?"

Marcus looked at Falco with confusion for a few seconds, until he remembered that Falco still didn't know about Leon's new blaster.

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Marcus said as he looked back at Leon, "We still haven't told Falco about it."

"Told me about what?" Falco asked with a little more frustration and impatience in his voice as he glared at the two brothers, "Alright, what genius idea did you two manage to conceive without telling me _this_ time?"

"No it's not like that Falco," Marcus replied, "Leon just got a graduation gift from someone today, and we haven't told you about it."

Falco's eyebrow rose in surprise.

"A graduation gift?" Falco asked, "Who's it from?"

"Well that's the thing," Marcus said as he scratched the back of his head, "The person who left it didn't leave a name or address, so we actually have no idea who it's from."

Falco's eyelids dropped in doubt.

"So what you're saying is that a random stranger gave Leon a graduation gift?"

"It's not important," Leon said, cutting into the conversation as he looked at Falco, "Really, it's not that big a deal. I'm just curious to know who it's from, that's all."

"Well, it's important to me," Falco said with a stern voice, "Show me the gift."

Leon hesitated at first, but then he reached down and pulled his weapon out of its concealing holster and handed it to Falco. Falco's felt his heart skip a beat as he looked at the weapon, but luckily he managed to keep his composure completely calm. He carefully grabbed the weapon out of Leon's hands and examined it like he was looking for clues, but there was really no need to do it.

Falco knew exactly who the weapon belonged to.

"Well," Falco said as he handed the weapon back to Leon and cleared his throat, "That's a very, uh, unique weapon Leon, and I think the best thing for you to do is to take care of it."

Leon didn't notice Falco's suspicious reaction, and he smiled as he grabbed the weapon and fitted it back into his holster.

"Yeah, that's exactly what Mr. Spear said," Leon said with a chuckle.

Marcus felt Falco's nervousness and anxiety skyrocket when he saw the weapon. He was about to ask him what was wrong, but when the transport suddenly went outside, the change in the environment caught Marcus's attention and caused him to forget about Falco.

The three rookies looked around and saw many large hangers that were about fifty feet apart from each other on the plains of Cornaria right outside the city.

"What the heck are all of these?" Marcus asked, looking at each hanger.

"Most of them are empty," Falco began, "They're rentable hangers that wealthy people may get for their large cruisers or other luxury ships. Luckily, someone in the military helped me out and I got one of them without any charge."

The monorail transport kept on going until it reached the hanger that was farthest from the spaceport. When they arrived the four pilots exited and the transport went back to the spaceport. The group starred up at the hanger, looking all the way from top to bottom. There was a silence as they stood there in the outdoors, just examining the hanger and anticipating what was on the inside.

"Well then," Falco suddenly said, breaking the silence, "let's head in."

The three rookies nodded and they all began walking to the small front door that dwarfed in comparison to the large hanger door right next to it. When they reached it, Falco opened the door and the team walked in to see their ship. When the entered, they were presented with only darkness and the door behind them closed.

"Uh, am I the only one who can't see a damn thing?" Coby said in the darkness.

"Hang on just a second," Falco answered him.

Falco flipped a light switch right next to the door and the entire hanger was suddenly flooded with light. The three rookies gave huge smiles as they looked at what the darkness had been hiding. A large battle cruiser, the famed Great Fox, was sitting before their eyes like a glorious treasure that had finally been recovered.

"Alright, let's get on board pilots," Falco said with a demanding voice as he began walking up to the craft he had seen a thousand times.

"This is incredible," Marcus said, gawping at the large spaceship, "It's the Great Fox. The actual Great Fox is right here in front of me!"

"I never dreamed I would see this ship in real life," Leon added, "but there it is. It's almost a little overwhelming to be honest."

"I heard about this ship in legend," Coby remarked, crossing his arms with a smile, "I got to admit, she sure lives up to her name in appearance."

The three rookies simply stood there for what seemed like hours examining the ginormous craft, until Falco finally noticed his pilots weren't following him.

"Hey morons!" Falco yelled with a scolding voice at the pilots, "Quite gawping at the ship and get over here you four-year olds."

"Coming!" the three rookies said as they ran over to Falco.

"We've got work to do," Falco began when the boys reached him, "Leon, you take Marcus and board the ship. When you two enter, you'll probably be greeted by R.O.B, the ships robot handling unit. He'll tell you where to put your gear."

"A robot?" Marcus asked curiously.

"Uh, do we need a password?" Leon questioned, "Because I don't want to trip the ships alarm system and get disintegrated or something equally terrible."

"When you enter the ship," Falco began again in more detail, "protocol systems will activate and R.O.B will turn on, along with the ships lighting system and probably a few other machines as well. I already entered you two into the systems mainframe via my cellular watch, so it should recognize you as Star Fox members. Coby will have to wait until we can enter him in as well."

"Ok then," Leon said with an unsure voice, taking Marcus and heading to the portable staircase leading up to the ships side door, "but if that robot attacks us, I can't promise I won't rip it into pieces."

"He _won't_ attack." Falco said again, "He's not that kind of robot."

"I didn't know we had a robot!" Marcus said to Leon as the two walked away.

"Same here," Leon replied, "I wonder what other surprises there are."

"Ok that's it," Marcus said as he began running towards the staircase.

"Wait, Marcus!" Leon called out to him as he started to run as well.

"I needto see what this ship has!" Marcus said, sounding excited.

"And if you two break even a single piece of equipment or make a single scratch on the walls," Falco yelled to them, "I will make sure neither of you have a mission for a solid year, understand?"

"Yes sir!" they both yelled back to him.

"If they break anything," Coby said, walking up to Falco with a confident smile, "I'll fix it no problem."

"Well that's very helpful," Falco said, holding his forehead while his eyes closed, "because they break stuff all the time."

Coby laughed and started.

"Yeah, tell me about it," he said, "One time, Leon smashed the control panel on his simulated Arwing out of pure frustration from losing a mission, and Marcus broke his blaster after trying to find the safety at the shooting range. If they didn't have me, they'd probably owe a fortunes worth of broken equipment to the academy.

"So you have known them for a while, huh?" Falco said as he looked at Coby with a tired smile.

Coby gave a soft chuckle and nodded.

"Anyway," Coby started again, "is there anything I can do right now?"

"You're not in the ships computers yet," Falco answered him, "so you can't exactly board it, however there are a few things you can do on the outside I suppose. Engines, armor, paint, anything that looks like its rusting or simply wearing out from disrepair, notify me about it, or even fix it if you can."

"Can do sir!" Coby said, tilting his hat towards Falco as he always did when recognizing a superior officer.

"Wait a minute." Falco said, stopping Coby right as he started walking away.

"What's wrong?" Coby asked, turning back around to face Falco.

Falco put a wing under his chin, examining the Great Fox from side to side and top to bottom.

"You can't fix or examine anything if you can't reach it." Falco said, "You won't be able to go that high without a ladder."

"Oh, come on." Coby said with a smile, "Do you think I didn't come prepared? Take a gander at this!"

Falco watched as Coby pressed a red looking button of sorts that was on the connector of his two backpack straps on his shoulders. When he did so, a blue light showed from the bottom of Coby's backpack and a loud air pressure sound could be heard as Coby was slowly lifted into the air.

Falco's eyes widened and his mouth opened up in amazement, causing Coby to smile with pride.

"That's a jetpack!?" Falco asked loudly, trying to make his voice audible over the noise of the jetpack.

Coby nodded and then pressed the button again, causing him to fall back onto his feet.

"Let me guess," Falco said sarcastically, "you created it yourself didn't you?"

Coby put his hands on his hips and nodded with pride.

"Hold on a second," Falco began, "if that's a jetpack, then where is the rest of the stuff you packed?"

"In here!" Coby said, reaching over his shoulder to pat his jetpack, "this doubles as a backpack as well."

"That can't carry very much." Falco said, "What did you pack?"

"Oh you know," Coby said, "a few manuals, some toiletries, and of course the pieces to my other weapons that I can take apart and assemble. Oh! I also have a small repairs and splicing kit in my pocket here." Coby said, patting his right pocket.

"What about clothes?" Falco asked him.

Coby didn't answer and just starred at Falco blankly.

"Uh… that's a good point. I guess I didn't think about that until just now." Coby said, tilting his hat down until it was covering his eyes.

"You didn't bring any other clothes!?" Falco yelled, "Yeah, you _really_ came prepared didn't you?"

"Well, I got a cool jetpack though, right!?" Coby said, tilting his hat upwards to smile brightly at Falco, but he tilted it back down when he saw Falco still glaring at him.

Falco closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"Well, I guess we can find some old pairs of clothes on the ship you can use." Falco said, opening his eyes as he began walking towards the staircase, but then he stopped and turned back around, pulling a radio earpiece out of his pocket.

"Here," he said, tossing it to Coby, "use this to communicate with me. I'll contact you from the ship when I get your information into the computer, understood?"

"Roger that." Coby said, tilting his hat again towards Falco while he fit in the earpiece.

When he finished putting in the earpiece, Coby turned his jetpack on and went to work on the ship. Meanwhile, Falco walked to the staircase and began his ascent to the Great Fox. When he reached to door, he pressed the small control panel on the side and walked in.

"Identifying life form…" Falco heard when he walked into the ship, "Life form identity recognized. Welcome back Captain Falco."

"Good to be back R.O.B." Falco said with a smile, "I'd love to chat but we got lots of work and updating to do. Did you see two moron's board this ship a few minutes ago?"

"Private Leon and Private Marcus are in the living quarter's sir." R.O.B answered, "Shall I notify them of your presence?"

"That won't be necessary." Falco replied, "I'll head there myself."

"It has been eight years since you last flew on this ship." R.O.B answered him, "Shall I give you a tutorial of the ships rooms and directions in order to refresh your memory sir?"

"I know this ship backwards and forwards R.O.B," Falco said as he began walking, "but thanks for the offer."

"Very well then sir." R.O.B said before going silent.

Falco walked through many corridors before he actually got to the living quarters. When he got there, he could already here two voices arguing with each other in one of the rooms.

"I already told you Marcus," Leon said, "I was here first!You go find your own room."

"But this rooms the biggest one!" Marcus said, "You can't just claim it because you were here first!"

Falco sighed and walked over to the room, starring into it to see both of the boys standing up in the room, yelling at each other.

"What do you mean it's the biggest one!?" Leon yelled at him, "They're all identical to each other! I just don't want to move all my crap!"

"Do you _really_ think I'm that stupid!?" Marcus yelled back, "This room is _obviously_ bigger than the others! I mean look! It's a queen sized bed and all the others have twin beds!"

"Ok _fine_ it has the biggest bed!" Leon yelled, "But that doesn't mean I'm giving it up! I already told you I was here _first!_ "

"We've _never_ settled something over that stupid claim!" Marcus growled at him while he began popping his knuckles.

"Oh, so you want to fight for it you little baby puppy!?" Leon said, pressing his head down on Marcus's forehead while snarling and Marcus snarled back at him.

Falco cleared his throat, and the two boys stopped snarling and looked over to their captain, who was crossing his arms and giving them both a death glare.

"I was here first Falco," Leon started, pointing a thumb towards his own chest, "so the rooms mine!"

"No way!" Marcus yelled, looking back at his brother, who was ignoring him, "We should have a duel for it! Best two out of three!"

"Neither of you idiots get this room…" Falco started, taking a deep breath while closing his eyes, as if he was trying to contain all of his rage," because _this_ room is _my_ room, and yes you _should_ have noticed it because each room already…has…your…name."

Both of the boys turned bright red and then started nervously laughing.

"Oh, uh-uh of course!" Marcus said, stuttering while he tightly closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head, still smiling, "w-we already knew that Falco we were just, um, checking it out!"

"Get out of my room." Falco sternly said, still closing his eyes.

Both of the boys proceeded quickly picked up their bags and ran out of the room, not making eye contact with their captain.

"He's gonna kill us some day." Marcus whispered to Leon as they walked away.

"I'm surprised we're still alive." Leon whispered back.

Falco took another deep breath and then he softly chuckled. He then remembered something else and began heading to the command bridge. When he arrived, he was greeted again by R.O.B, but this time it was the robot himself and not just his voice over the intercom.

"I hope you found the ship has acceptable quality since your last leave sir." R.O.B said to him as the two walked to one of the data terminals.

Falco laughed.

"Same old ship R.O.B." Falco said, "Same old ship. Now I need to enter in another pilot into the systems computers."

"A third pilot?" R.O.B asked, "I thought you only enlisted two."

"His names Coby," Falco said as he turned on the computer and began flipping through files "a fellow classmate of Marcus and Leon. He'll be the engineer for the team. At least… that's what I heard he was."

"Where is this pilot now?" R.O.B asked.

Just after R.O.B asked that question, both of them heard knocking on the large glass panel that allowed the officers in the bridge to look out into space. Falco and R.O.B both turned to see what was causing the noise, and Falco's eyes dropped as he saw a flying raccoon in a cowboy hat waving at them both with a large smile on his face.

"Is that him?" R.O.B asked while he waved back at Coby.

"Yes, that's him." Falco said with a small sigh as he too slowly waved back at Coby, who went up above the window and out of sight.

Falco turned back into his computer and started to enter in Coby's information. It took a while, seeing that Falco had to keep calling Coby in order to learn about his age, height, and other physical descriptions that Falco thought were pointless in the first place. About thirty minutes later, Falco finally got the last detail in and entered Coby into the computer, finally making him an official part of Star Fox.

Falco pressed the button on his earpiece and spoke.

"Alright," he said, "you're in the computers now. You're an official part of Star Fox so you can come on board. Any problems outside?"

"None whatsoever." Coby responded back, "In all honesty, I'm surprised how well this ship has lasted after being parked in one place for eight years, but I don't see decay of any kind. Even the paint has held up."

"Ok then head in to the ship." Falco demanded, "When you get on board, R.O.B will guide you to the bridge over the intercom."

"The bridge?" Coby responded, and Falco could hear the jetpack turn of, indicating that Coby had just landed.

"Yes," Falco responded, "and on the double. I'm calling Leon and Marcus into here as well. We're gonna have a little meeting."

"Be right there captain." Coby said before his radio turned off.

As soon as Falco finished speaking with Coby, he told R.O.B to get Marcus and Leon into the bridge as well. When R.O.B had called the two pilots, Falco sat down in the command chair and waited for his pilots. Marcus and Leon entered first, and Coby came in right after them. Despite not being in uniform, the three boys got in a straight line and faced Falco with a salute.

"At ease pilots." Falco said as he stood up from his chair, and the three pilots stopped saluting and stood at attention.

Falco stood in attention as well with his wings behind his back. He gave the three boys a piercing glance. Each of them were unwavering. None of them even had the slightest since that they wanted to turn back.

"When we take off," Falco began with a voice of authority, "we probably won't comeback for a while. A few months at the least if we don't have any missions. A few years, possibly even half a decade, if we have a big mission going on. If you have any problems with this team or with this plan, say them now, because when we take off, your careers will officially begin."

None of the boy's expressions changed. They were all standing at perfect attention with no sign of going back.

"Very well." Falco said, sitting back down, "In that case, Coby I want you to check on the vehicles in the hanger. Marcus, Leon, I want you two to finish setting up your rooms and getting your equipment in order. We leave in an hour. You're dismissed."

"Yes sir!" the three boys said in union with a salute.

Leon walked down the living quarter's corridor and entered his room. Digging through his duffle bag, Leon pulled out a small, holographic device and set it on his bed. Leon got on his knees beside the bed and looked at the device for a few minutes. He then decided to type in the number that had been given to him so many years ago by the man who saved his life. The hologram ran for a couple of seconds until a holographic projection of an orange furred vulpine who was sitting down appeared on the device. He smiled when he saw Leon.

"Hey warrior," Fox said to Leon, "you doing alright?"

"Uh, yeah!" Leon said with an awkward smile, "Yeah, I'm doing fine."

Fox crossed his arms, still smiling at Leon.

"You're still nervous aren't you?" he asked warmly.

Leon's smile disappeared and his ears dropped. He sighed heavily and nodded slowly.

"That's normal kiddo." Fox said with a chuckle, "It would be concerning to me if you didn't feel a little nervous."

"Yeah, I know." Leon said, and a small smile broke out on his face, "You're always concerned about me."

Fox closed his eyes and looked down.

"Well, it's a father's job to make sure his sons ok." he said.

Leon clinched his fists and took a deep breath.

"We'll be taking off in about one hour." he said, trying to make his voice sound normal, "After that, I don't think I'll be able to call you with this."

Fox nodded slowly and his smile looked like it was about to disappear, but then he smiled largely again.

"So, you're on the Great Fox!" he said, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah!" Leon said, trying to forget about leaving, "I'm on it right now with Marcus and Falco. Oh I forgot to tell you! Our comrade Coby joined us. He's on the ship too!"

"Your raccoon engineer friend?" Fox asked with a smile.

"He came with us right before we left the school. I think he'll be great for the team!" Leon said.

"Well, it's good that you guys have an engineer." Fox said, and then added with a chuckle, "After all, you two aren't very good with machines on your own."

Both of them laughed, but then stopped. There was an awkward silence between them.

"Is Marcus their?" Fox decided to ask.

"Uh, yeah!" Leon said, recovering from the broken silence, "Do you want to talk to him?"

"If he's not too busy, sure!" Fox said.

Leon went to his door and called out for Marcus. Marcus walked into Leon's room, and as soon as he saw Fox on the hologram, a smile broadened out across his face and his tail began to wag.

"Hey dad!" Marcus said as he kneeled next to the bed with Leon.

"Hello Marcus," Fox said with a smile, "I heard you and Leon will be departing soon."

"In about an hour or so." Marcus said, "We're getting everything ready right now."

Fox nodded and then he starred at the floor again. When he looked back up, Leon and Marcus could both see how worried the vulpine looked.

"I want you two to look after each other alright?" Fox said, his voice trembling a little, but his smile unchanging.

"We will Dad." Leon said with a warm voice, using all of the willpower in his body to not cry.

"We're going to be fine." Marcus said, warmly smiling at his father. He wanted to cry like his brother, but he needed to be the soldier he claimed he was.

"I know you two will be." Fox said, regaining himself, "And I know you'll do amazing out there. Now, I have to get back to work. Be careful, okay?"

"We will Dad." Leon said as he took a deep breath, "I love you, and thank you for everything."

"I love you Dad!" Marcus said exuberantly as he swallowed hard.

"I love you too." Fox said with a crack in his voice as a few tears flowed from his eyes, "Goodbye kiddos. I'll be praying for both of you."

With that, Fox turned off the hologram communicator and let his sons go.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Raiders

Four days had passed since the Great Fox took off from Cornaria. It was now hovering right above the planet's atmosphere with its crew members attending to their duties. Falco was checking through law-enforcement wanted lists to see if his team could have a real mission to do. Coby was looking after the Arwings in the hanger, making sure they were in top condition for flight and, more importantly, for battle. Leon was in the ships small training room, going over his fighting moves and techniques. Marcus was sitting down at his desk inside of his room, trying his hardest to draw a picture of the Great Fox.

"No, no it's not like that," Marcus mumbled to himself as he carefully erased a small portion of the ship. Marcus lifted his pencil up from his paper and starred at his half-finished drawing. His eyes formed a frown as he grumbled to himself. The picture wasn't turning out to be anything that he had originally intended. The front portion of the ship was way too long, and the back engine was all scrunched up like it had been smooshed in a docking bay by a low class pilot.

"Ah, forget it," Marcus said with a resigned tone of voice. "I need to see the ship from the outside again to get a better picture of it in my mind." He set his pencil down and crumbled up his paper before throwing it into the trash bin, which was already full of crumbled up papers from Marcus's previous attempts at drawing the ship.

Marcus leaned his head back and starred at the ceiling with a sigh. Even though the vulpine had precise artistic skills, drawing was something he usually did just to kill some time. Unfortunately, that was something he was having to do a bit more frequently for the past four days. He was a bit frustrated that neither he nor his team had managed to get a mission yet. He knew Falco was trying his hardest to find a job for them, but that didn't change the fact that he was completely bored. He closed his eyes, trying to think of something else he could do to let the time pass. Marcus's eyes opened and he smiled as he came up with another idea.

Marcus sat down on his bed and closed his eyes, trying to concentrate as hard as he could. He put his right middle and index finger onto his forehead and, slowly but surely, he peeped into the mind of Coby. Marcus had his eyes closed and he could only see darkness, but images began to form in his head. Sooner or later, Marcus could see an Arwing, and he could feel himself messing with the interior hardware of the device. Coby's hands carefully unplugged a couple of wires and began to clean the outlets with a rag. Marcus had to be careful as to not feel any other emotions except for Coby's. If he suddenly felt nervous, scared, or angry, Marcus's empathetic powers would make Coby feel the emotions as well. The key was to focus on the other person's thoughts or emotions without having your own. Right now, Coby felt dedicated and confident, so it wasn't too difficult to connect with his mind.

Marcus left Coby's mind and it quickly wandered to Falco. Once again, images began to appear, and soon Marcus was looking right through Falco's eyes. He could feel his fatigue from all the hours of sleep he had lost looking for a job assignment for the team. Marcus could read Falco's thoughts. He saw that he Falco was thinking about the team's current mission status, which was non-existent, and was stressed out about not having a job for his pilots.

Marcus took his fingers of his forehead, opened his eyes, and took a deep breath. Now it was time for the most challenging mind. Marcus closed his eyes again, adjusted his fingers on to his forehead, and let his mind wander to Leon. Images of a gymnasium began to appear, and Marcus could feel himself working out on a punching bag as his brother went through his daily training. Three seconds after Marcus had entered his mind, Leon suddenly stopped his training and stood up. Soon, the image Marcus had was quickly blocked out by Leon's own mind.

"Marcus why are you reading my mind?" Leon thought.

Marcus could hear Leon's thoughts in his own head, and he smiled to himself.

"Well crap," Marcus thought back to Leon, "For a few seconds there, I thought I had done it without you noticing."

"You actually did for a little bit." Leon thought back to Marcus, trying to encourage him.

"How do you block it off so easily?" Marcus thought back, "It's like I can feel my self being literally pushed back."

"It's easier if you've known the person for a while." Leon thought to Marcus, smiling to himself.

"I can sense your emotions easily enough," Marcus thought, "I don't even need to concentrate very hard."

"Yeah, but that's easier to do sense it's not the persons actual thoughts and memories," Leon thought to Marcus, "You can see and feel someone's emotions no problem, but seeing thoughts and memories is something completely different."

The brothers mind link was suddenly broken off by a voice speaking over the intercom.

"Attention," R.O.B's robotic voice said, "All pilots are to report to the bridge for mission briefing at once. Please come in uniform. This is not a drill."

"Mission briefing!?" Marcus said to himself excitedly as he stood up smiling with his tail wagging, "Oh, thank the Supreme Creator, finally!"

Marcus quickly climbed into his own flight suit and put on his white flight vest, the same suit type his father used to wear. He took his blaster belt and strapped it around his waist, and then proceeded to grab his father's old blaster and shoved it in the holster. As he ran down the corridor, he could already sense the excitement emitting from his two wing men, who were also heading down to the bridge.

When he arrived at the bridge, Leon was already waiting at attention and Falco had his back to both of them with his wings together behind his back. Marcus went to stand next to Leon and he looked at his brother, who winked at him with a smile. Coby entered in a few minutes after the other too, still adjusting his pistol belt while also strapping on his backpack, which was now completely empty and would function entirely as a jet pack.

"Sorry I'm late captain," Coby said, still looking down at his pistol belt, which he was trying to finish clipping on, "Just had to finish re-calibrating the Arwings flight systems."

"You do realize that nobody here even knows what that means, right?" Leon said, looking at the raccoon with low eyes and a smile.

"That's because everyone else here is an idiot," Coby said, tilting his hat up so he could glare at the lupine before getting into attention next to Marcus, "And you would thank me if you knew what it meant for your safety while flying."

"Right," Leon said, looking away from Coby while still smiling, "Thanks for re-calibrating the…thing."

"Flight System." Coby corrected him, "Seriously dude, it's not even hard to say."

"That's enough chit-chat," Falco said, turning around to face the pilots who were now standing perfectly at attention.

Falco crossed his wings and looked at his team. A telepathic fast-combat vulpine, a power fighting, warrior born lupine, and a gun slinging raccoon engineer. Any other regiment and the team would look completely out of character, but for Star Fox it was the most normal looking thing in the universe.

"Today, you will embark on your first mission in this unit." Falco began, addressing his crewmates in the most professional way he could, "Fortunately for all of you, it's a bit more challenging than the average crime stopping run that law-enforcement usually embarks on. For the past two months, an unidentified ship has been floating right above the atmosphere of Cornaria. Many supply ships and even commercial transports have been lost in the same area where this ship has been located. This vessel has finally been identified as a fast-attack transport, about twice the size as the Great Fox.

"This has been going on for two whole months?" Coby questioned, a bit surprised by the situation.

Falco nodded.

"Why hasn't law-enforcement taken serious measures?" Leon asked.

"They already have." Falco answered, "They finally managed to identify it with a few patrol ships that survived one of the attacks, but the only problem is that the ship is military class. Law-enforcement personal don't have the firepower or training to take on such a vessel."

"How on earth did pirates get their hands on a military class ship like that?" Leon questioned again, sounding confused.

"No one knows," Falco responded, "But it wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened. Pirates and raiders have gotten military class cruisers before, but the last time it happened was about fifteen years ago."

The three pilots widened their eyes in surprise.

"Wait, what does that mean then?" Marcus asked.

"It means that there's a group or person behind this who has a whole lot of influence," Falco answered.

"Let me guess," Coby began crossing his arms with a smile, "you want us to figure out who gave these pirates their ship so we can shut them down?"

"That's partially correct," Falco answered him, "Our primary objective is to destroy or incapacitate the ship before it makes any more raids. Anything else is secondary."

"This sounds like a pretty uncommon pirating occurrence." Marcus said, putting a paw under his chin, "Shouldn't the military have taken action by now?"

"They are." Falco answered him, "Their hiring us to do it."

"Well, it looks like their laziness is actually helping us then!" Coby said with a laugh.

"What about this ship?" Leon asked, "Do we know what we're going up against?"

"Unfortunately, the only information we have was from the surviving law-enforcement patrol." Falco said with a sigh, "The only intel I have is this. The ship is large like a cruiser but fast, and it can jump through hyperspace in no time. The disadvantages I could see was that it lacked firepower with no turrets or cannons."

"What the…" Marcus said, completely confused, "Then how on earth have they been able to make any raids without weapons?"

"Like I said, the ship is a transport," Falco answered, "It carries up to twenty fighter class ships which were identified as Thorn Divers."

"Thorn Divers?" Marcus curiously asked.

"C-class fighters." Coby answered him, "Known for being cheap and easy to manufacture. They were commonly used by the underworld back in the day when they had more power, but now they're rarely seen."

"So does the military think this is the underworld?" Leon asked.

"No, not even a little bit." Falco answered him.

"Why not?" Leon asked, "It seems pretty logical that they would-

"Dude, you need to catch up with current events." Coby interrupted him, "Didn't you here about the-

"That's enough Coby." Falco interrupted him with a stern voice, causing the raccoon to nod and stand back in attention, "For now, the who's and why's are irrelevant. I want you all to head to the hanger and board your ships. You'll be heading out in about ten minutes and we'll reach the destination in about thirty. You're dismissed."

The three pilots saluted their captain and began running to the hanger where their arwing ships were waiting to be flown.

"So, why can't it be the underworld?" Leon asked Coby as they ran.

"Yeah, I was about to ask that too." Marcus said, looking at Coby.

"Well, it's kind of complicated to explain." Coby answered them, "I'll tell you guys when we head out into space."

The pilots arrived at the hanger and boarded their ships. They each put their radio devices on and waited for the hanger doors to open. Suddenly, after five minutes of waiting, the hanger doors opened up, revealing the black void it had been shrouding. Each of the pilots fired up their engines and headed out into the unknown darkness.

When they were finally out, Marcus exasperated loudly. When the doors had opened, he had been holding his breath, nervous from his first real flight into space. When he was finally out, he looked around at the darkness, and let out a noise that was both and exited laugh and a nervous whine. He got into the V formation with his wing men on his left and right.

Marcus sighed heavily as he put his ship on autopilot and let go of the controls he had been clenching to the entire time. He smiled and started laughing, realizing that he had already done this a hundred times in training, and that it wasn't so different in real time. While he was laughing, he saw his brother's smiling face appear on the black screen on his dashboard.

"Well, have you wet yourself yet?" Leon asked, still smiling.

"Not at all," Marcus said, smiling back at his brother, "This is absolutely incredible Leon. I can't even believe we're here right now."

"I can." Leon said with a smile, "Both our dads did this all the time. Is it really surprising that we're here now?"

"It's just a little overwhelming," Marcus said, looking around with a humongous smile.

"Easy their rookie!" Leon said with a laugh, "Don't have a heart attack from excitement."

"You're a rookie too!" Marcus said, laughing as well, "And you have to admit Leon… this is pretty awesome."

"Hey, what are you two doing?" Marcus heard through his headset and Leon heard it as well, "The screen's only for two-person communication. Didn't you want to hear about the underworld stuff?"

"Yeah, sorry Coby." Marcus said through his headset, turning off the communication screen, "Go ahead and tell us what's going on."

"Alright then." Coby said, clearing his throat over the headset, "It started about twenty or so years ago. Something really big happened in the underworld, and all of a sudden they were being hit right and left by law-enforcement and military personal. Illegal weapons factories, smuggler moons, black market trading locations, and even crime lord HQ's were being targeted and taken out all at the same time. Nobody really knows how, but the Lylat Federal Government got a lot of the underworlds secrets and used it to their advantage."

"Holy crap," Marcus said with awe, "Were they taken out completely?"

"Oh, heck no." Coby answered, "But it sure did hamper their progress. They're nowhere nearly as involved in criminal activity as they used to be, but uprooting the entire system would take a lot more action. A lot of the criminal organizations that weren't directly hit knew what was happening and evacuated. They went into hiding so to speak, and would recover until they could fight again."

"Well, haven't they recovered yet?" Marcus asked.

"No one really knows," Coby responded, "But seeing that crime is still at an all-time low, everyone assumes that they're still hiding or gone by this point."

"But that doesn't mean that this ship _isn't_ from the underworld," Leon said, "This could just be their first move after a long recovery, right?

"Maybe, but that would be a bad first move," Coby answered, "Anybody whose recovering takes their healing process slowly. They aren't sick one day and running a marathon the next."

"That's a good point," Marcus said, "The underworld would do something smaller than trying to cut off a planets space route."

"Exactly," Coby said, "It wouldn't make sense."

"Haven't crime bosses and warlords done that in the past though?" Leon asked.

"A couple of times," Coby answered, "but that was only during the pinnacle of the underworlds reign, which was a long time ago before Star Fox was even active. No crime boss or warlord would even think about doing something like that now."

"Strange," Leon said with a cautious tone, "guess this really is a big deal then."

"Ah, will be fine," Marcus said with an exuberant voice, and then he added with a sarcastic tone, "Are you feeling a little bit nervous Leon? If so, you can sit this one out if you want."

"Oh har-har, very funny," Leon replied with an aggravated tone as he rolled his eyes.

"In fact, you guys can _both_ sit this one out," Marcus said with a hint of ego in his voice, "I can take all of these guys down on my own in less than ten minutes."

"Really? Well I could do it in _five,_ " Leon replied, sounding more egotistical than his brother.

"Uh, hey guys," Coby said, cutting into the conversation, "You do realize that this is an actual mission right? You don't have to turn it into a competition."

"Hey Leon," Marcus said with an excited voice, completely ignoring Coby, "Whoever shoots down the most enemy fighters wins, alright?"

"You're on," Leon replied as he smiled to himself.

"Wait, hold on," Marcus said, "If we board the ship, do foot soldiers count?"

"What!?" Coby exclaimed.

"Let's say… troopers are worth one point, and fighters are worth five points." Leon replied.

"Yeah, that'll work perfectly!"

"Alright, no," Coby said sternly, "Every time, every single freaking time we went on a practice run, you guys would do this _exact_ same thing! Why do you guys have to compete in literally _everything!?_ For the love of the Supreme Creator, this isn't a game!"

"Aw, come on Coby," Marcus replied, "If we're gonna be in danger, why _not_ make a game out of it?"

"Don't be a party pooper," Leon said bluntly, "you don't have to pretend to be serious in order to have your head in the game. We're just trying to make some sport off of it."

Coby was about to protest some more, but then he just let his head down and sighed.

"Ten points to whoever cripples the transport," Coby said with a resigned voice.

"Ha-ha, that's the spirit!" Marcus said with glee.

Falco's voice suddenly blared over the radio.

"Objective dead ahead. All pilots, prepare for battle!"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: The First Mission Begins

Marcus's ears perked as he heard Falco yell over the radio. He quickly began looking outside his cockpit, trying to locate the enemy vessel.

"Where is it?" Marcus asked over the radio, sounding energized by the adrenaline now pumping through his body, "Where's the enemy ship?"

As soon as Marcus had asked the question, he saw a large, box shaped brown looking freighter far out in the distance. The ship was facing sideways, and Marcus could see how long the vessel really was. It was about the same height as their own ship, but it was much longer from front to back.

" _That's_ the mystery ship?" Coby said over the radio, "That looks like a crappy freighter in desperate need of a good paint job!"

"Don't let your guard down," Falco sternly said, "It may not look like much, but it can carry a lot of enemy troops and fighters. Twenty ships in the hanger, and about eighty enemy soldiers on board. Prepare to attack. Whatever you do, stay close to the Great Fox."

"What for?" Coby asked, "We don't need protection. Thorn Divers are bad quality fighters, and that transport doesn't have any weapons,"

"I'm not providing you any protection." Falco answered, "I'm _asking_ for it. I'll act as bait in this mission. Those fighters will come right after the Great Fox, and when they do, you guys take them out. When all ships are eliminated, we'll all charge the defenseless transport,"

"This'll be a walk in the park!" Coby remarked over the radio, "Those fighters can't even damage the Great Fox,"

"Don't underestimate the enemy," Falco said, "That can get you killed in something you should have easily survived,"

"Roger that captain," Coby said.

"I got visual!" Leon yelled over the radio, causing all the other pilots to go silent, "Fighters at twelve o'clock, coming in fast!"

"I see them on the radar," Falco said, "There's a dozen Thorn Divers attacking. The rest must be protecting the transport. Prepare to attack on my mark,"

Each of the pilots waited, their hearts slamming against their breastbones. Marcus was panting and smiling like a kid ready to ride a roller coaster for the first time. The Thorn Diver fighters kept getting closer and closer, and Marcus could feel his grip getting tighter and tighter.

Suddenly, Marcus heard the sound of the Great Fox's main cannon going off, followed by the destruction of three of the thorn diver ship and the scattering of the rest of the fighters. Marcus almost jumped out of his seat when he saw the yellow laser cannons fly by his ship.

"Mark, all ships begin your attack!" Falco yelled over the radio.

Marcus laughed and immediately thrusted his ship forward and upwards, chasing down a group of thee of the now disorganized enemy fighters.

"Wait, what are you doing!?" Coby yelled over the radio, "Shouldn't we stay in formation?"

"I'll take the three on the starboard side!" Leon yelled, turning his ship to go after the other fighters.

"I thought we were staying in formation!" Coby yelled over the radio.

"Coby, break off!" Falco yelled, "Three of the fighters didn't break. You're right in their line of fire!"

"Son of a…!" Coby said, performing a barrel role in order to avoid the incoming lasers that were targeting the Great Fox.

"Pay attention!" Falco yelled at him over the radio, "You almost got fried!"

"Sorry sir," Coby said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

"All pilots, choose your targets and attack!" Falco yelled once more.

Marcus was already following the three fighters that had broken off and stayed in a group. The biggest flaw the enemy ships had was their lack of armor and shields. In one movement, Marcus shot down the fighter on the right, barrel rolled, and then destroyed the other one on the left in under two seconds, and the third fighter began jerking out of panic.

"I just got two of them!" Marcus exclaimed over the radio.

Leon was following his own targets as well. One of the fighters broke from the group and quickly turned around, unleashing a barrage of yellow lasers at Leon's arwing. Leon struck a menacing smile and nudged his ship to the right, barely dodging the lasers. He then opened fire with his primary cannon, shooting three green lasers at the front of the enemy craft. The first two missed, but the last one hit the enemy ships cockpit, causing it to burst in flames and spin wildly out of control until exploding.

"Just finished my first," Leon said, "Coby, get the three that attacked the front. It looks like their preparing for another frontal assault,"

"Got it," Coby replied, flying towards the group of fighters that were circling around the front for another attack.

Back in Marcus's cockpit, Marcus was struggling to target the remaining fighter, which was now flying and spinning right to left in an uncontrolled ecstasy of panic. The only thing a Thorn Diver really did have in ways of quality was its maneuverability and speed. Marcus put his index and middle finger on his forehead, connecting to the enemy pilots mind. Inside, he froze the pilot's hands, keeping him from moving his ship around. Marcus saw the ship starting to slow down and fly straighter, and he took the advantage to fire right into the enemy's engines, giving him his third kill.

"I got my last one," Marcus said over the radio, "Leon, Coby, how are you guys doing?"

"I'm about to finish my second," Leon said over the radio, and Marcus saw Leon's ship pursuing an enemy fighter which was now smoking.

"Still working on my first," Coby responded with a sigh, and Marcus could see his ship firing at one of the enemy Thorn Divers, which was evading each of Coby's shots.

"Any signs of reinforcements?" Marcus asked, looking at the enemy transport which was not moving at all.

"I don't see anything," Leon answered.

"I got nothing," Coby added.

"Looks like the other eight ships have already boarded the transport," Falco said, "Wait a minute, we have a serious problem pilots!"

"What is it?" Marcus asked, feeling a bit nervous after sensing Falco's sudden anger.

"Damn it, the enemy transport! The ships defending it have already boarded, which means only one thing!" Falco yelled, sounding angrier.

"Ah crap!" Leon yelled as well, "They're going to try retreating! We can't waist any more time with these guys, we have to head for the transport!"

"We won't have enough time." Marcus plainly said as if stating a simple fact, "I'll head for the transport. Leon, finish up and help out Coby. I'm going to cripple its engines and board it."

"No, absolutely not!" Leon yelled over the radio, "Marcus, we stay together! We're a team! Do not board that ship alone!"

But Marcus didn't respond, and he was already heading for the transport.

"Marcus…" Leon said more calmly into the radio, but then he yelled, "Marcus!"

There was no response.

Leon's nerves began to electrify and he could feel a very familiar feeling he had eight years ago in the forest. Leon immediately began heading for the enemy transport, but then he was stopped by Coby.

"Leon, I need your help!" Coby said, sounding distressed, "I'm sorry, but I'm not good enough to take all of these guys by myself!"

Leon silently swore to himself and took a deep breath, and then he turned around to help out his comrade, who was now pursuing an enemy fighter while being shot at by two others.

"Don't worry about him," Falco said to Leon through the two-way screen with a smile on his face, "This is just like his father used to do things. He can handle himself fine,"

Leon eyes squinted and his hands tensed over his controls.

"No he can't," Leon said lowly.

While Marcus was flying, he could feel Leon's nervousness emitting from his body. Marcus sighed, feeling a bit guilty for worrying his brother.

"I'll be alright," He thought to Leon, but Leon didn't respond.

When Marcus reached the transport, it was already turning around, preparing to make a jump away from the battlefield. Marcus quickly proceeded to fire two shots right at the sides of the transports engines, crippling their hyper drive without destroying the ship. Marcus then circled around and began heading for the enemy hanger, which was just about to close. Marcus smiled as he hit the thrusters on his ship at full power, entering the ship right before the door managed to close. Because his ship was still going at high speeds, Marcus had to quickly plant it on the ground, and the ship made a large screeching sound and Marcus could see red sparks as it dragged against the hanger floor. The ship finally stopped, and Marcus thought he could smell smoke, but luckily there was no actual fire. He took a deep breath and smiled to himself.

"This ships gonna need a serious paint job after the mission," Marcus said to himself before grabbing the long, steel staff tied behind his seat and opening his cockpit door.

As Marcus stood up on his seat, he heard the sound of weapons cocking and reloading, and he looked around to see several rat men and hyena folk surrounding his craft with their automatic laser rifles pointed at him. The pirates where wearing brown, laser proof vests with thick, black jeans.

"You stupid vulpine," one of the hyena folk said with a menacing smile and voice, and Marcus saw that he was wearing a green uniform and carrying a laser pistol, which Marcus assumed meant that he was an officer, "what on earth were you trying to do? You could have easily destroyed our ship from the outside, but now you're surrounded, and I doubt your comrades will fire on our ship while you're in here. You're coming with us. Our captain would like to have a little chat with you,"

"Actually I _do_ want to talk to your captain!" Marcus said jubilantly with a smile, "So why don't we all just put down our weapons and go see your captain to have a nice, calm conversation discussing the terms of your surrender,"

The hyena officer laughed, and all of the other pirates laughed with him, and then the officer started again when they stopped.

"You must be having delusions of-

Before he finished, the top of Marcus's staff ignited with blue electricity, and Marcus quickly dashed over to the officer, swinging his staff at the officer's face and knocking him out cold without even a scream. The officer's body fell down on its back, and the rest of the pirates exasperated with surprise.

"Now then," Marcus said as he turned around to look at the other pirates with a frowning smile, swinging his staff over his head before smacking it down on the ground with an electrical spark sound, "can one of _you_ take me to your captain?"

"Kill him!" one of the rat men screamed with a cracking voice and a look of shock on his face, and the rest of the pirates opened fire.

Marcus quickly ducked low, avoiding the enemy fire, and he quickly dashed over to the other pirates. He swung his staff in one, long stride, knocking out three of the rat men before swinging his staff around to knock two of the hyenas of their feet, breaking their legs in the process. Marcus was dashing from pirate to pirate with lighting speed, knocking them out or incapacitating them with his electric staff that Krystal had trained him to use. Each pirate went down one by one, and sooner or later Marcus was surrounded by pirates who were screaming in pain from injury, knocked out cold, or even killed by having their neck broken. There were about twenty casualties in all.

Marcus's eyes shot open. From the other side of the hanger, he could sense about fifteen pirates or so forming a firing line. They were all pointing their weapons in his direction, and Marcus smiled to himself.

"I was hoping there would be more," he said to himself while he turned to look at his opponents, latching his staff onto his back.

A wave of red lasers began swarming in his direction as the pirates opened fire. Any other soldier would have retreated or found cover, but Marcus ran straight towards his enemy. The lasers were slow in his eyes, and he could dodge each one with ease, dashing from left to right while jumping and crouching in a movement that was blurry to the naked eye.

The commanding officer of the firing squad, a rat man wearing the same uniform type as the hyena officer, cursed as he fired his blaster at the intruding vulpine.

"What are you doing you scumbags!?" the officer yelled at his men, "Your accuracy is terrible! It shouldn't be this difficult to get one guy when we have a whole squad!"

"But…but sir!" one of the hyena pirates yelled back, looking at his officer, "We're aiming as best as we can! He's too damn fast, we can't even see him!"

"I don't want excuses private!" the officer yelled, pointing his blaster at the hyena which caused him to look back at the blurry image, "You just aim better and try-

The officer was cut off by Marcus suddenly appearing between him and the private he was addressing. The vulpine was crouching down, looking at the ground with both of his hands placed flat on the hanger floor. The officer swore again, and both he and the private and the rest of the pirate squad quickly pointed their blasters at Marcus, who put both his right index and middle finger on his forehead, closing his eyes.

The officers muscles quickly locked, and his joints were frozen as he felt his entire body go completely stiff.

"What's going on!?" the officer yelled, gritting his teeth while his blaster wielding wrist shook uncontrollably, "I can't move a muscle!"

"I can't move either!" the private said with both of his arms shaking while he pointed his weapon at Marcus.

The rest of the pirates were grunting and shaking their arms, legs, and hands in an attempt to break from Marcus's telepathy trick. Marcus stood up on his feet and sighed, scratching the back of his head with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Man alive do you guys have weak minds," Marcus said, opening his eyes with a look of disappointment, "Not even a small hint of resistance. No wonder you're pirate underlings,"

Marcus then pulled two stun grenades off his belt, activated them, rolled them within the ranks of the line on both sides, and quickly jumped out of the explosive radius. He heard several pirates exasperate with surprise from seeing the grenades before they went off, causing several of the pirates to yelp and scream with pain before they were all silenced. Marcus turned around to see the ground littered with unconscious pirates.

"I didn't realize it could be so easy to break into other people's minds," Marcus said to himself as he walked over to the pile of unconscious men.

Marcus starred down at the pirates and he put a paw under his chin, smiling to himself.

"This must mean Leon has a really powerful mind if he can resist a telepathy move that can freeze fifteen people at once," Marcus thought out loud.

Right after he finished talking, Marcus heard his cellular watch going off, and he shifted his arm from under his chin to answer it.

"Marcus, can you hear me?" Coby's voice said from the other line.

"I'm here Cob, what's up?" Marcus said exuberantly with a smile on his face.

"We're about to finish up out here," Coby answered, "How are things going in the ship? You run into company?"

"Uh," Marcus said, looking around at all the bodies littered across the hanger floor, "yeah…briefly,"

"Spare me the details," Coby said, "and listen up. We're going to come aboard when were done, so we need you to open the hanger door. Look for a switch on the side of it from the inside. There should be one there…at least, that's just my guess,"

"Yeah, I think I see it," Marcus said, walking over to a panel with a green and red button next to the hanger door, "I'm going to head to the bridge. Meet me there when you board,"

"Roger that, Coby out," Coby said before turning off his cellular watch.

Back in the bridge, the captain of the pirates, a large male lion with a red, blaster proof vest that was made out of metal and designed to show his six-pack of ab muscles, was slamming his hand down on the control panel that was hooked to the computers showing every location on the ship through cameras. He could see the intruding vulpine running through many corridors to reach the command bridge.

"Those fools!" the lion said with anger, as he flared his nose and barred his fangs, "They should have withdrawn as soon as the first squadron got taken out by him!"

"Should I order the other troops to engage, Captain Maine?" the lieutenant, a Rottweiler with a large anti-tank bazooka strapped to his back, asked.

"No, tell all the other officers to have their troops back down," Captain Maine said, pointing his index finger at his lieutenant. "The vulpine is heading to the bridge. Lieutenant, you take your squadron and head to the data storage room. Protect it with your lives. We don't want the enemy to know who we're connected to. When the vulpine arrives, the rest of the thirty soldiers will be waiting in the corridors on the way here, ready to ambush any reinforcements. I'll deal with the telepath myself."

"Should I wipe the data storage sir?" the lieutenant asked.

"No! We can handle this. There's no reason for that," Captain Maine responded.

The lieutenant saluted his captain and went to assemble his squadron, and captain Maine went to turn on his long-ranged communicator.

"This isn't good," Captain Maine growled, "The boss is _not_ gonna like this."

Marcus sighed as he ran through the corridors, heading for the command bridge.

"Man, this is taking forever." he groaned, "Why does this ship have to be so huge? And where the heck are the other pirates? I thought this ship could house more than a hundred of them."

As Marcus approached the command bridge, he could hear talking going on, and he decided to crouch down so as to not be seen. He began eavesdropping on a conversation going on between one of the crewmembers and someone over the long-ranged communicator.

"Commander, I assure you, this isn't a problem," The crewmember said with a voice that was mixed with both pride and fear, "I can handle a small group of scumbag mercenaries, no problem. You just have to give me some more-

"Nearly half your crew has already been eliminated by one of these intruders alone Captain Maine." A very deep and shrouded voice said from the communicator, "Do not try convincing me that you have the situation under control."

"But sir," the crewmember said, who Marcus now understood was the captain, "I can easily-

"I don't want to hear it captain," the other voice said, sounding more impatient, "Wipe your data computers immediately. I don't want anything tracing back to us."

"Very well sir," the captain said, sounding a little bit agitated, yet still fearful.

"I just have one more question Captain," the other voice said, "Who are these mercenaries?"

Captain Maine snarled with anger.

"It's that old group that used to fight for the government a long time ago," Captain Maine said with hatred, "The same one that defeated Andros."

"Star Fox?" the other voice said with a hint of surprise, "That's impossible. Every member of that group besides Falco is either retired or dead."

The captain let out a low growl.

"Well sir, I guess they gained some new members. What I do know is that the pilot who boarded our ship is a blue-furred vulpine with telepathic powers,"

There was a silence as the other voice didn't respond.

"Male or female?" the other voice finally asked.

"Male sir," the captain responded.

"I see," the other voice said.

"Is that a problem sir?" Captain Maine asked.

"Let's just say it's rather…interesting," the other voice said, "But what's important for you Captain Maine is that you wipe your computers ASAP. And remember captain, whatever you do, don't let yourself get caught. I _will_ find you if you do."

"Y-yes sir, Captain Maine out." the captain responded before cutting off the transmission and pressing a few buttons on his cellular watch.

"So, who's this commander of yours?" Marcus asked, stepping out from the side of the door way.

The captain quickly turned around with a surprised look on his face, but it quickly turned to a menacing smile as he reached behind his back to grab two short-handed, double-bladed axes from his back. The lion spun the blades around and then got into his fighting position with his axes suspended apart from each other below his waist.

"You've caused a lot of trouble for me," the captain said, grinning at Marcus with a sinister look.

"Yeah, yeah, I beat the crap out of your subordinates," Marcus said, making an acknowledging hand spin before crossing his arms to look back at the captain with a curios look, "Anyway, who's your boss with the evil voice? Didn't really seem you liked him…or he liked you for that matter."

"The commander's name is unknown even to me." the captain responded and then he glared at Marcus, "And let's just say I _respect_ him, and we'll leave it at that,"

"Yeah, that just the polite way of saying 'I hate him, but I still work for him'," Marcus said with a smile, before getting into his own fighting position.

Without warning, Captain Maine suddenly jumped into the air with a roar and brought one of his axes down onto Marcus.

Marcus quickly dashed to the left to avoid the captain's attack. The lion brought his axe right into the ground, bending the metal floor and piercing it with his blade. Marcus stood up, smiling at the captain.

"Over here you fat cat." Marcus said, crossing his arms with a big grin on his face.

"Fat cat?" the captain said quietly, starring at Marcus with blood shot eyes and a half-crazed smile, "That's real funny isn't it!?"

The captain pounced at Marcus, swinging his axes wildly in every direction and destroying everything in his path. Marcus jumped on the black chair the commander sat on in the center of the room, but the captain simply swung his axe at it, cutting the piece of furniture in two with a horizontal swipe. Marcus jumped off the chair before it was cut and landed right on top of the computer control panel, but the captain pounced at him once more and swung his axe down, aiming for Marcus, but the vulpine jumped away again and the captain simply cut three of the computer screens and the control panel in half with one vertical swipe.

"So all you can do is jump and run huh?" the captain said with a mocking tone, starring at Marcus with a frown that showed all of his fangs.

Marcus's eyes were frowning, but then a large smile broke out on his face.

"I see you came prepared for the battle," Marcus said, starring at the captain's forehead which had a silver dampening plate on it.

"This is no ordinary dampening plate either," the captain said with a smile, tapping the metal band on his head, "It's embedded right into my skull. You can't remove it like you can remove any other hat or helmet. I like to keep my thoughts a secret."

"Or someone else wants to keep your thoughts a secret." Marcus said with a mocking tone, getting back into his fighting position.

"Indeed," the captain said, crossing his arms around his chest to form an X, "The commander would not be happy if someone knew his plans. But enough talking, let's get back to the fighting!"

"I couldn't agree more!" Marcus said, pulling the silver staff off of his back, activating it, and spinning it around until he began running at his enemy.

The captain roared and ran at Marcus as well, pulling both of his axes over his head to let down one massive swipe onto the vulpine. Marcus brought his staff up to parry the attack, and the weapons clashed, causing red sparks to fly. Marcus's eyed widened and his smile disappeared as he struggled to push off the attack. The captain gave a sinister smile and laughed.

"Do you see how powerful I am?" he said, pushing his weapons further down onto Marcus, "You are foolish for challenging me in a battle of strength!"

Marcus was struggling to push back against his enemy. Not only was the captain stronger, but he was bigger as well, standing a full foot taller than Marcus. The captain brought all of his weight down onto Marcus, causing the vulpine to fall onto one of his knees Marcus tried his hardest to push back against the attack, until he remembered something Falco had told him.

"Your speed is your greatest advantage," Falco's voice echoed in his head, "Use it to the fullest."

Marcus's eyes narrowed into a frown and he growled at the captain. He quickly broke off the attack by spinning to his left and let the captain smash his weapons into the floor. Marcus spun around and swung his staff right into the lions back, causing the captain to yell with pain as he stumbled back to face Marcus, breathing hard.

"So you're pretty fast," he said, glaring at Marcus while he caught his breath, "But your strength is lacking. I won't let my guard down again!"

With a yell, Marcus charged back at his enemy, going fully on the offensive. He jumped all over the captain, swinging his staff left and right from almost every direction, forcing the lion to go completely on the defensive. Marcus was much faster than the captain, but his enemy's reaction time was equally skilled, which allowed him to parry each of Marcus's attacks. Red sparks were flying from the weapons as they clashed together with brute force, and Marcus was delivering both fast and powerful blows against the captain.

Marcus was looking for an opening, and he finally found it as he managed to slip the electric tip of his staff right between the captain's axes, hitting him dead center in the chest. The lion's body lit up with electricity, and the big cat let out a large cry of pain. Marcus smiled, believing he had finally one, but the captain quickly countered by delivering a front kick to Marcus, sending the vulpine flying towards the wall.

Marcus got up with a grunt, but the captain quickly pounced at him before he could recover. Marcus tried to dodge the attack, but the captain still managed to nick his shoulder a little, causing Marcus to yelp with pain as he grabbed his injury. The captain, blinded with rage, made a loud roar and slowly brought both of his axes over his head to finish off Marcus. Marcus took advantage of his enemy's rage and struck the captain again with the tip of his staff, this time aiming for the lion's abdomen. The captain screamed once again with pain as his body lit up with electricity, but again he wasn't taken down, and he swiftly delivered a side kick right into Marcus's injury, sending the vulpine across the floor of the bridge.

Marcus's body stopped sliding, and he was yelling in pain and writhing across the floor as he grabbed his injury. The captain gave a sadistic smile as he walked over to Marcus, who quite yelling and writhing and was now struggling to get back on his feet. Marcus was barely on his feet, grabbing his bleeding wound, and he slowly turned his head up to strike a smile at the captain with low eyes.

"Most people would be killed by two of those shocks," Marcus said, grabbing his injured shoulder while holding his staff with the other one, "You've got an impressive body."

"The lions are the strongest warrior race," the captain said, walking over to Marcus while slowly bringing both of his weapons over his head, "Now die you weakling!"

Marcus jumped away to avoid the attack. Marcus's movement was much slower now, and he realized that the captain's strength hadn't been reduced at all when his axes broke into the metal floor again.

" _He's got a very impressive body,"_ Marcus thought to himself, " _I was hoping two lighting shocks would at least hurt him, but he hasn't even budged."_

The lion gave an evil laugh as he pulled his weapon out of the floor and glared at Marcus with a menacing smile.

"I bet your wondering why your little weapon didn't do anything," the captain asked with pride in his voice.

"I'll admit, something about you is pretty unusual," Marcus said with an aggravated tone as he glared at the captain.

"Well, don't you want to know my secret?" the captain asked, still with pride in his voice.

Marcus smiled to himself. The captain already believed he's won, and this was a perfect way to stall for time.

"Alright, tell me," Marcus said.

"Very well," the captain said as he put his weapons to his sides, "The man who trained me is the most powerful lion king in the entire solar system. He didn't only increase my strength, but he taught me how to resist unbarring injuries using sheer will-power,"

"Go on," Marcus said with a smile, still trying to buy some time.

"You see, my people are known for our immense durability," the captain continued, "It's the defining characteristic of our warrior heritage. My master taught me even deeper secrets as well, and he said that there are ways to make the body resistant even against the greatest of strains. Tasers, flash grenades, tranquilizers, _none_ of these have any effect on me!"

" _Holy crap,"_ Marcus thought, _"This guy is so full of himself,"_

"Is this master of yours the same one you were just speaking to?" Marcus asked.

"Oh no, but he does work for him as well. The commander is _far_ more powerful than me and my master,"

"So I guess your people _aren't_ the strongest then," Marcus said with a mocking tone.

The captain laughed.

"Oh, don't worry," he said as he walked over to Marcus, "Soon, we will surpass all other warriors _and_ the commander himself. Yes, we are destined to be the strongest race!"

Marcus stopped holding his wound and grabbed his staff with both of his arms, ready to parry his enemy's attack. The captain brought both of his axes down, but before Marcus could parry them, another figure stepped in between Marcus and Captain Maine and grabbed the lion's axes with his claws.

"Strongest race?" the black-furred lupine said as he brought the captain's axes down to stare at the gapping lion with a grey-eyed frown, "Pull your head out of your ass captain,"

"Leon!" Marcus yelled with wide eyes and a large grin as he starred at his brother.

"Head to the hanger and wait for Coby," Leon said as the captain withdrew from his grasp, still facing the lupine, "I'll deal with this guy,"

Marcus nodded in agreement, still with that look of joyful surprise.

"Good luck Leon!" Marcus said as he left the command bridge.

The captain's gapping surprise turned to a look of anger as he barred his fangs and barked at Leon.

"How did you get past all of the other squads!?" the captain yelled.

Leon struck a menacing smile and got into his duel stance.

"I decommissioned them," Leon said with a grim tone.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Coby and Leon Attack

Ten minutes before Leon showed up to the enemy bridge, Leon and Coby had finally managed to board and land inside of the enemy transport. The two pilots opened up their cockpit doors and stepped out of their crafts, examining all of the carnage that surrounded them. Coby crossed his arms and gave a large huff when he saw all of the bodies.

"Looks like he didn't need our help after all." Coby said, "I'm sure he's already taken out the rest of the crew."

"I wouldn't count on it." Leon said, walking away from his Arwing as he sniffed the air, "I smell more pirates farther away in the ship. I can't tell how many though."

One of the hyena pirates had regained conscience, and was slowly aiming his weapon at Leon. A yellow laser suddenly hit the pirate dead in the head and his body went tumbling down. Leon quickly turned around to see the dead pirate, and then he saw Coby walking up to him with both revolving blasters pulled up next to his shoulders and a large grin on his face.

"You better watch your back you dumb lupine." he said with a mocking tone as he tilted his hat towards Leon, "Consider yourself lucky that your engineer's also a dead-eye."

"Oh please," Leon said, rolling his eyes with an aggravated tone as he turned to face Coby, "I already knew he was there. I was just waiting for him to shoot so I could dodge the laser and fire back at him."

"Right," Coby said, patting Leon's shoulder with his pistol whip in an overly comforting way, "whatever you say Leon, I'm sure you feel much better about yourself by saying that."

"You _know_ I'm being serious." Leon said, moving Coby's hand away from his shoulder while glaring at the raccoon.

"Uh huh, sure you are!" Coby said to Leon with a smile and a voice that sounded like he was talking to a baby.

"Oh gosh would you just shut up and scan the place already?" Leon said, putting his face in one of his paws with an impatient tone of voice, "We need to get going."

Coby chuckled to himself and holstered one of his blasters. He then pulled out a small, box shaped device with a screen and a keyboard with numbers like a calculator. After pressing a couple of buttons and switching the screen a few times, Coby finally got what he was looking for. He showed the map to Leon and began pointing at various locations, indicating where the lupine was supposed to go.

"Alright, here we go." Coby said, "The mapping calculator should give us the whole layout of the ship. It looks like the bridge is the farthest away on the fourth floor. You should be able to reach it by going all the way up the stairs and then heading down the main corridor. You'll then take a right and go up this last staircase. It should lead you right to the command bridge. Watch out for guards. There'll probably be a lot of them if Marcus hasn't already taken them out.

"Where will you go?" Leon asked.

"Right here," Coby said, pointing to a room on the third floor, and Leon's eyes narrowed as he stared at the location.

"Which room is that?" he asked.

"It's the data storage room," Coby answered, "I'll be able to find all the archives there. All of their history, all of the locations they've been to, and all of the people they've encountered should be written down and saved right into that rooms computers. We'll be able to find out who these guys really are and what they're up too."

"Then it sounds like a plan." Leon said, "Head back to the hanger when you've gotten what you came for. I'm going to head for the bridge to help out Marcus. I'll meet you here when I've finished my business. I doubt they left the data storage room unguarded, so watch out for pirates."

"Roger that!" Coby said with a smile as he put away his mapping device and tipped his hat towards Leon. He then pulled out his other pistol and headed for the data storage room.

Leon began following Coby, and the two split up when they reached the third floor. Coby nodded and smiled towards Leon, and then he turned around and headed down the corridor. Leon continued his ascent, and stopped when he finally reached to fourth floor. He took a moment to catch his breath and smell the air.

His eyes narrowed into a frown and he began growling. Several enemies were ahead, enemies who were ready to ambush. Leon crouched down to the floor, walking cautiously down the corridor and waiting for his enemy to spring their ambush.

"ATTACK!" Leon heard, and suddenly several hyena folk and rat men sprang from the doors on the left and right of the corridor from both in front of and behind Leon, wielding automatic laser rifles that were all aiming for the intruding lupine.

Leon quickly pounced up and latched onto the ceiling with his claws, and underneath him several red lasers began spurring from both directions. Leon actually heard a couple of screams of pain, indicating that there had been some friendly fire. The shooting stopped for a second as the pirates aimed their weapons upward, but Leon reacted faster, jumping from the wall and right into the fray of pirates that were covering the side he had entered from.

The pirates ambush was clever, but it was executed very poorly, and the ambushing groups had been awkwardly bunched up and were now very close to each other on both sides. Leon knocked out the rat officer of the pirate bundle instantly by kicking him right in the face after pouncing from the ceiling. Several other pirates were pointing their weapons at him, ready to fire, but they had let the warrior get way too close. Leon slashed at the necks of the pirates closest to him, killing them instantly. He then quickly pounced at another one, grabbing the pirate's automatic laser blaster and knocking him out cold with it. Leon then yanked the rifle out of the unconscious pirate's hands and began using it as a bludgeon, knocking out three more pirates.

At the other side of the corridor, the other pirates were hesitating to fire, fearing that they would hit their own comrades who were now being bludgeoned.

"He's gonna kill all of them!" one of the hyena privates yelled, "Sir, what do we do!?"

"Ah, forget it!" the hyena officer yelled, firing his blaster into the group of bloodied pirates, "Open fire! They're dead anyway!"

Leon noticed the sudden array of blaster being fired at him. Two of the remaining pirates were killed by the incoming fire, and Leon dropped his weapon and quickly grabbed the last pirate, using him as a shield.

The rat man's body was riddled with lasers and then Leon remembered something else he had. He dropped the dead rat man and quickly activated his red reflector shield. Several of the blaster bolts hit the shield and were knocked back, killing three of the pirates, but Leon noticed another one unpinning a grenade and hurling towards his position.

With a large roar, Leon quickly deactivated his shield and pounced at the grenade that was still in midair. He caught the explosive device and quickly threw it back at the pirate squad before landing on all fours to the ground. The grenade exploded as soon as it reached the center of the pirate group of twenty men, killing or knocking out half of them while stunning or sending the other half flying.

Leon quickly pulled out his own plasma blaster and picked up one of the automatic laser rifles a pirate had dropped. He began firing wildly into the smoke left by the grenade and he saw several other red blasters being fired back at him. Leon crouched on his knees and, using his lupine senses, detected were each of the five remaining pirates where. He simultaneously gunned down each of them

As soon as he had finished, Leon was panting hard when he stood up. He dropped the now empty pirate blaster and holstered his own weapon. He looked around at all of the carnage surrounding him, and he could smell the stench of burned flesh and dead bodies. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As soon as he had regained his breath, Leon started heading down the corridor to the command bridge.

* * *

Coby ran down the corridor that led to the data storage room. As he approached, he stopped and leaned against the wall right next to the door, listening for activity on the inside. The sound of several pirates mumbling to themselves caused Coby to smile with excitement.

In a flash of movement, Coby quickly stepped into the entry way, fired at three of the pirates on the inside, and took cover on the other side of the entry way as several pirates began retaliating by firing red lasers at Coby. Coby heard the sound of a rocket launcher being loaded to fire, and he quickly jumped away from the door.

As soon as he had pulled back, he heard the sound of a rocket launcher go off, followed by a loud explosion occurring right at the door. Coby recovered and got right back up to his feet, pointing both of his blasters at the doorway as he quickly began retreating backwards. The pirates, a squad of heavily armored bulldogs with heavy laser blasters lead by a Rottweiler who was wielding a rocket launcher, began running out of the room with their weapons at the ready, firing away at Coby.

Coby pulled of two more shots at the pirates, taking out two more bulldogs, and he quickly took cover behind a corridor turn. He could hear and see several red lasers being fired, and Coby could also barely hear the sound of the rocket launcher being reloaded. The raccoon holstered his revolving blasters and he pulled his lever action laser rifle off of his back.

Coby quickly jumped from his cover, landing on his side, and fired a green laser right at the side of the Rottweilers rocket launcher, causing an explosion that set off the rest of the Rottweiler's ammo.

The blast took out both the Rottweiler and four of the bulldogs right next to him. The other five bulldogs were dazed by the explosion, and Coby took the advantage to simultaneously execute each of them with a head shot from his rifle.

Coby stood up and took his hat off, wiping the sweat on his brow. He smiled and laughed, putting his hat back on as he walked over to the dead pirates.

"That's why you only use a rocket launcher against vehicles." he said, crouching down to look at the now unrecognizable corpse of the Rottweiler.

Coby stood back up and walked over to the data room to collect information.

* * *

Marcus was running through the corridors of the transport, intent on making it towards the bridge. He had just been saved by Leon, and he could see all the carnage caused by the lupine in the corridors that lead right up to the command bridge.

"And you did all of this without telepathy." Marcus said with a smile as he ran through the corridor, holding his wounded shoulder.

Marcus's smile quickly disappeared as he ran.

" _This is the second time you've had to save me."_ Marcus thought to himself, _"I promise I'll get stronger Leon."_

Marcus made it down the large staircase and he headed towards the hanger. When he arrived, he climbed into his Arwing and grabbed the first aid kit out of his craft. Luckily, Coby arrived only a few minutes afterwards, covered with black marks from lasers that barely missed him during his last battle.

"You alright telepath?" Coby said as he walked over with a smile, latching his rifle onto his back.

Marcus smiled and laughed weakly when he saw his friend.

"Bought to ask the same for you," Marcus said, "looks like you had a lot of close calls."

"Nah, I'm fine," Coby said as he stood next Marcus, "You look pretty banged up on the other hand."

"It's not that bad." Marcus said, gritting his teeth as he tried to find the bandages.

Coby crouched down and took the aid kit away from Marcus.

"Here, lean against the Arwing. Remove your hand." Coby said with a soft voice and Marcus obeyed, leaning against the craft while he closed his eyes and breathed hard.

"This is gonna sting a bit." Coby said, unscrewing a small bottle of alcohol from the aid kit before pouring it onto Marcus's wound.

Marcus squinted his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying his hardest not to scream from the searing pain that came from the alcohol. He was panting hard when Coby stopped, but he managed not to scream.

"Was that really necessary?" he said with a quiet voice, opening his eyes to glare at the raccoon, who made a crooked smile and laughed at the vulpine.

"Well, unless you want that wound to get infected," Coby said, grabbing some bandages out of the aid kit, "yes, it is very necessary."

Coby began wrapping the bandages around Marcus's wound, and Marcus realized that Coby hadn't talked about his mission.

"Why weren't you at the bridge with Leon?" Marcus asked without an accusative voice, "Weren't both of you supposed to come up?"

"So, Leon made it to the bridge huh?" Coby said without looking at Marcus as he put the bandages away into the first aid kit and put the kit back into Marcus's Arwing, "Although I guess that explains why you're here. I was at the data storage room, trying to break into the enemy's archives. Ran into some company there, but I took care of it."

"Did you find anything in the computers?" Marcus asked curiously, remembering what the captain had said.

Coby looked at Marcus and shook his head with a shameful look in his eyes.

"No, unfortunately, all the data was already wiped." Coby said with a low voice that sounded aggravated, but then he started again with a normal voice, "They must have known we were coming for it. Although it does prove that there's something they're trying to cover up."

Marcus nodded in agreement and then he sighed, disappointed that they were still in the dark.

"Well, at any rate," Coby said, "these pirates might be able to tell us something. Here, let me get some rope out of my Arwing."

"Rope?" Marcus asked with his ears perking up, "What for?"

Coby smiled and started again.

"To tie up some unconscious prisoners." he said, and Marcus smiled and nodded in agreement with his tail wagging.

* * *

The command bridge was filled with a silent, yet vibrant intensity. Two warriors, one filled with justice and the other filled with greed, faced each other off. Leon and Captain Maine were walking in a circle apart from each other, each waiting for the other one to attack.

"You're far too late." the captain said with a snarl that showed all of his fangs, "The data has already been wiped. You will get nothing from this ships computers, and you will certainly get nothing from me."

Leon let a prideful smile manifest onto his face.

"So what you're saying is," Leon began as he walked crouching down to the ground with his claws barred, "if I beat the crap out of you…I'm sorry _when_ I beat the crap out of you, you still won't tell me anything?"

The lion gave an evil chuckle.

"I'll admit, I'm impressed you took out all of my men guarding the command bridge," the lion began, "but do you really think that scares me? Their power is nothing compared to mine. I've been training with the greatest lion king of them all."

"And who might that be?" Leon asked.

"I'm afraid I cannot say," Captain Maine said with sarcasm, "but I will tell you one thing lupine. If you think you can survive after attacking my ship you're out of your mind."

"Don't sound so confident in yourself," Leon said without breaking his smile, "You haven't beaten me yet, and your entire crew has been captured or killed."

Captain Maine said nothing, but a menacing smile spread across his face.

"You've already lost captain," Leon said, "It's time to surrender."

"Oh, you have _deeply_ misunderstood me." Captain Maine said.

Leon's smile disappeared. He realized the captain possessed absolutely no fear at all.

"What are you talking about?" Leon said, "Explain yourself."

"Alright then." Captain Maine said as he stopped walking and stood up straight, "You see, my master taught me everything I knew about fighting. He's powerful indeed, _far_ more powerful then you. But there's another one that is even stronger than him. He is a very, _very_ powerful man. He has already established several connection across the Lylat system. It's only a matter of time before he makes his next move."

Leon's curiosity began to skyrocket. He didn't know if the captain was telling the truth, but he wanted to know exactly what was going on.

"Who is it?" Leon asked with impatience, "Who are you working for? What is he planning to do!?"

Captain Maine let out a large laugh.

"I'm not going to say anything else," Captain Maine said, "but, I'll tell you what lupine. How about I make a proposition for you."

"A proposition?" Leon said with confusion.

The captain crossed his arms and nodded with a chuckle.

"I consider myself an honorable warrior, so here's the deal. If you defeat me, I'll give you the next piece to the puzzle. But if I defeat you…you must recognize me as your master."

Leon smiled and nodded.

"Alright, you got yourself a challenger captain."

Captain Maine let out a large laugh and got into his fighting position with his weapons making an x across his chest.

"Excellent!" Captain Maine said with confidence, "Now, you will understand exactly why my people are the ultimate fighting force in the Lylat system you pathetic lupine!

Leon's eyes closed and he smiled.

"It's not smart to judge your enemy's skill primarily by his race…" Leon said, and then he opened his eyes and added, "But if you _do_ judge them by that, then you should know to run away as fast as you can when you see a lupine."

The Lion tightened his grip around his weapons and growled, and a fire seemed to light up in his eyes.

"You'll be the one cowering from me you stray dog!" the lion yelled, charging at Leon.

Leon still had his eyes closed as he waited for his enemy to strike. The captain brought both of his axes down onto Leon, but, to his dismay, the lupine simply caught both of the weapons again.

"Using the same attack?" Leon said with a mocking tone, not opening his eyes, "How grotesquely predictable for a large, mindless oaf."

Captain Maine roared at that last insult, and managed to break his axes from Leon's grasp once more, but this this time he didn't withdrawal, and he simply brought his weapons down to cut his enemy in half. Half way into the captain's swing, Leon stepped to the side and slashed at the lion's arm, making a long claw mark that ran down his entire arm. The lion yelled with pain, but he hadn't yet recovered to bring his weapons up again, and Leon took the advantage to quickly spin around the back of the lion until to make another claw mark on his other arm.

Instead of finishing his enemy off, Leon simply withdrew backwards, facing the back of the lion. Captain Maine turned around to face Leon with black hatred in his eyes, barring all of his fangs to show that the beast had been fully unleashed. Captain Maine gave his loudest roar, sounding much more intimidating than a big cat.

"You shouldn't let your rage consume you," Leon said, still closing his eyes as he crossed his arms, "you must take control of your instincts. When you do, you will be able to predict all of your enemy's movements. That is the instinct of the hunter, and that is what your people are capable of learning, just like mine."

"Instinct of the hunter!?" Captain Maine roared with pure hatred, "I am a hunter! A much better hunter than you! My people are the real warrior race!"

Leon slowly opened his eyes to stare at his enemy. He quite crossing his arms and grabbed two metal gloves off of his belt, putting them onto his hands. The gloves were designed to fit around his claws, and the metal blades that extended from the tips of the fingers were capable of slicing through armor. Leon got into his duel stance, ready to fight his enemy.

"Then show me the power of the warrior race!" Leon yelled at his enemy as he began charging towards him.

The captain roared once more and began charging at Leon. The lupine caught one of the axes with his claws for the third time, but this time he broke the weapon, snapping it right off of its handle and tossing the blade to the side. The lion grabbed his other ax with both hands and made a long side swing at Leon, attempting to destroy his enemy with force once again. Leon simply stepped backwards to dodge his enemies attack, and then proceeded to jump in mid-air, coming face to face with the lion.

As soon as he was eye level with the lion, Leon delivered a strong punch right into the lion's cheek, almost knocking the cat off of his feet. The lion stumbled backwards, spitting out one of his large fangs along with a lot of blood. Leon took advantage of the lion's temporal daze and quickly yanked his axe right out of his hand, slashing the weapon across the lion's stomach. The lion let out a large cry of pain, and Leon finished his enemy off by making a long, armor piercing vertical cut across the lion's abdomen and chest. The big cat struggled to stand up for a moment, but then tumbled down right onto his back.

Leon dropped the ax he was holding and took both of his metal gloves off, putting them back onto his belt. He sighed and walked over to the lion who was now holding his injuries and grunting with pain.

"I win." Leon said, "Now, tell me everything you know."

The lion let out a silent, gurgle laugh.

"Alright then lupine." Captain Maine said, "But just know that the only reason I'm doing this is because you've already lost. The supreme commander is going to obliterate you."

"I'm shaking with fear." Leon said sarcastically, "Now, tell me already."

"Of course." Captain Maine said with heavy breath, "Well, all I can say is that the next place my boss plans to strike will mark the end of the Lylat Federation. When his next objective is completed, the whole system will be completely helpless against him!"

"What!?" Leon yelled with anger, "What kind of bull crap information is that!? You just say he's going to do something that will change the whole system!? Well, what exactly is he going to do then!?"

"Don't look at me for information," the captain said with a growl, "the commander's agenda is widespread all over the system. He has _many_ projects going on right now, but he told us all that the next move he makes himself will be the end of the Lylat Federation."

"What other projects does he have going on!?" Leon yelled.

Captain Maine laughed again.

"How am I supposed to know?" he said, "I was just given my mission, and no other."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Leon growled, "You promised to share all of your information, not some bull crap about some big move your boss is gonna make!"

"That s all I know," Captain Maine said with a chuckle, "Be lucky you have any information."

Leon noticed the lion began to gurgle some more, and his eyes and mouth widened when he saw the big cat foaming from the mouth and struggling to breath. Leon swore to himself and he quickly ran over to kneel next to the lion who was dying from a cyanide pill he had just taken that was already inside his mouth.

"Who are you people?" Leon asked, sounding both angry and curious, "What are you trying to do here!?"

The lion just stared at him with wide, blood-shot eyes, foam pouring out of his mouth. The gagging stopped, and sooner or later, Leon realized that he was staring into the eyes of a life-less corpse. Leon closed his own eyes, putting a hand on the lion's chest.

"So, you chose suicide over captivity." he whispered to the corpse, even though he knew it wouldn't respond.

After kneeling in silence for several minutes, Leon gave a loud sigh and stood up, walking out of the command bridge and heading back towards the hanger.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Mission Debriefing

When Leon returned to the hanger, Marcus and Coby had just finished up tying up the rest of the prisoners. About twenty minutes later, the Great Fox docked with the pirate transport, and the Cornarian law-enforcement arrived at the scene to pick up the captured pirates. Before heading back to their station with the prisoners, the authorities thanked the Star Fox crew members, and promised that they would get the rewards for the prices on each pirate. After the whole ship had been cleared out, the Star Fox crew members decided to head back to their own ship with their Arwings. Back on board, Falco was debriefing the pilots inside the medical bay where Marcus was getting his wound properly stitched up by R.O.B.

"Ow! Would you be a little more careful, tin can!?" Marcus yelled at R.O.B, who was trying to stitch up his wound.

"Sir, please refrain from moving your Arm." the robot said, "This process would be much less painful if you would just remain still."

"Actually R.O.B, this process would be less painful if you were actually programmed to be a medical- ow!"

"I am aware of my programming sir, please forgive me." The robot said, "This is not my specialty."

"Maybe we just need to get a real medic for this team." Coby said as he cleaned his weapons on one of the surgical tables.

"Coby… that's probably not a good place to do that." Leon said, looking at the weapons Coby was cleaning.

"Oh, don't be a baby," Coby said, not looking at the lupine, "these beds get cleaned every day."

"Yeah, but not by you!" Leon countered.

"Oh yeah, because the droid is really annoyed by it," Coby said with a huff, "Hey R.O.B, are you bothered by having to clean up messes?"

"Not in the least sir." R.O.B said, still looking at his patients wound, "It is my programming, and I am more than happy to do it."

"You see?" Coby said as he looked at Leon with a smug smile before going back to his cleaning, "No problem at all."

Coby's snarky smile caused Leon to snarl.

"That doesn't change the fact that-!

"Alright, enough pointless argument." Falco interrupted with an impatient sigh, before addressing Marcus with his wings crossed, "Now Marcus, you said you managed to overhear the captain say something interesting over the com-line with the unknown party. What was it?"

"Actually, it was what the other voice said." Marcus replied as he looked up at the blue avian, "The captain called him commander and he had a really deep and bad guy sounding voice."

"Bad guy sounding voice?" Coby said from the other side of the room, "Wow, explained like a pro."

"But he did sound like a bad guy!" Marcus yelled back at Coby, who just chuckled and shook his head.

"Marcus, focus," Falco said which caused the vulpine to look back at him, "You told me he said something _interesting,_ what did he say?"

"Oh yeah," Marcus said, "Well, it wasn't really something he said, but the way he sounded when he said it. When the captain mentioned that there was a blue-furred vulpine with telepathic powers heading through his ship, the commander seemed a bit…surprised I guess."

Coby quite cleaning his weapons and both his and Leon's ears perked up as they looked at Marcus with curios expressions.

"He sounded surprised?" Coby asked as he stood up from his chair and walked over to Marcus.

"Yeah. At least, he sounded intrigued. I don't know how you'd explain it." Marcus answered.

Falco put a wing under his chin and walked away from the group, pondering over the facts and trying to make connections.

"Well, it's probably because you're half-Cerinian," Falco said.

"Half-Cerinian?" Marcus asked as he tilted his head in confusion.

"Yes," Falco responded as he turned back to the vulpine, "I'm sure that you already know that your blue-fur and telepathic powers were inherited from your mothers Cerinian blood,"

"Well, yeah obviously," Marcus said, still sounding confused, "but what does that have to do with it?"

"Everything, actually. Besides your mother, the entire Cerinian race was wiped out. That commander was probably surprised to hear that there was another one besides your mother who was still alive,"

"Oh yeah, that's right," Marcus said as he scratched the back of his head, "I guess that does make me pretty unusual compared to other Lylats,"

"Correct," Falco said, and then he turned to Coby and asked, "Coby, are you sure you didn't find anything on the computers?"

"The computers were completely wiped." Coby said with a sigh as he removed his hat and rubbed his furry scalp, "Sorry captain, but I couldn't get anything from them."

"And Leon said their captain committed suicide with a cyanide pill after he got beaten." Falco added as he turned away and put his wing under his chin again, "This means that the person behind all of this wants to keep himself a secret, and the captain didn't really give us any information."

"He said his boss was going to make a big move pretty soon or some useless crap like that," Leon said, "As far as I know, he was just trying to scare us."

Falco didn't respond for a while, but he finally decided to speak up.

"It's hard to tell if this was a bluff, or if there really is something going on," he said, turning around and walking back to Marcus, "but I need to start digging for more information on all of this. Captain Maine, these new pirates, everything we do have some information about. Leon, you're dismissed. Marcus, you're dismissed as soon as you get that wound stitched up. Coby, you're coming with me. We're gonna do some info fishing."

"Roger that captain!" Coby said as he tilted his hat towards Falco with a smile before walking out of the room with him.

Coby and Falco left the room, and Leon watched them walk out before starring at Marcus. Marcus smiled at him, but Leon just glared and shook his head, walking out of the room without saying a word. Marcus's smile disappeared as soon as Leon turned his back towards him, and the vulpine could sense his anger and frustration.

"Hey R.O.B," Marcus said as he looked at the door his brother exited, "have you noticed that Leon hasn't said a word to me this entire time? I think he might be angry."

"I'm afraid I do not understand emotion very well," the droid answered without looking at Marcus, "but I will say that his interaction with you has been a little bit…odd to say the least."

"Yeah…" Marcus said as he felt his ears drop, "He's definitely pissed at me."

R.O.B finished putting in the last stitch on Marcus's arm.

"Well sir that should do it," R.O.B said, "Please watch yourself in the future."

"Thanks a lot R.O.B." Marcus said as he got up from his seat and walked out of the room.

"It is my pleasure sir." R.O.B said to him as he left.

Marcus walked down the corridor for the living quarters until he reached Leon's room. The door was left wide open, and Marcus could see Leon staring blankly at the wall while he leaned on his desk.

"Uh, hey Leon," Marcus said with a nervous voice, "Mind if I come in?"

"Fine." Leon said, and Marcus turned to close the door behind himself before sitting down on Leon's bed.

Marcus could sense the emotions that Leon was trying so hard to cover up. Anger, fear, paranoia, and trepidation. Marcus simply smiled as he felt his ears go down, and he tried to say something that might cheer Leon up.

"You were flying really well today," Marcus said, "I'm impressed Leon."

Leon didn't say anything, and Marcus could tell that he wasn't getting any calmer.

"You managed to beat their captain." Marcus said as he cleared his throat, "That's awesome by the way. He was really strong when I tried to fight him."

"You seriously don't get it do you?" Leon said with a low voice, turning around to look at Marcus with eyes that were burning with anger.

Marcus took a deep breath and looked down, preparing for the coming storm.

"No Leon," Marcus began, "I understand why you're-

"You boarded that ship alone!" Leon yelled as he walked over to Marcus, who didn't make eye contact with him and only pushed his chin harder into his chest, "You boarded it without any backup and with little to no information! Are you out of your mind!? As far as you know, your Arwing could have been blown up as soon as you entered the hanger! And then you attack the captain alone!? You should have retreated as soon as you saw his dampening plate! You're so lucky it was only a scar you got on your shoulder! Your entire arm could have been lopped off!"

"Leon," Marcus said, feeling the guilt in his chest rise to his throat, "I didn't mean to-

"DO NOT SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" Leon roared, grabbing Marcus by his shoulders and shaking him.

Marcus looked up at Leon's face, swallowing hard, trying to hold in his tears of guilt. Leon calmed down when he saw Marcus's face, and he simply closed his eyes and sighed heavily, pulling Marcus in for a tight hug.

"We don't do that to each other." Leon said much more calmly and softy to Marcus, but just as stern, "We don't leave each other like that no matter what, okay?"

Leon could feel Marcus's head nod, and when he pulled the vulpine away from him, he could see Marcus's large puppy eyes with his ears down.

"Oh, come on big guy," Leon said with a warm smile, feeling a little guilty as he flicked Marcus's head, "stop that. You'll make me feel bad."

Leon sat right next to Marcus on the bed and clasped his hands together, leaning forward. Marcus was still leaning forward as well.

"Marcus look," Leon began, "I know I'm not your real brother, but that doesn't mean-

"What!?" Marcus interrupted, looking at Leon with wide eyes and a face of concern, "No Leon, I-I have never ever thought that way about you! I've always looked at you as my brother, since the first day I met you, and I actually thought it was so awesome when you said your biological dad was Wolf!"

Leon closed his eyes and chuckled.

"Marcus, you're probably the only person in the whole galaxy who thinks that way." Leon said with a smile without looking at Marcus.

"I'm serious!" Marcus said, "When you told me that, it just made you look twice as awesome! It doesn't even remotely bother me!"

"Yeah, I know." Leon said with a sigh, "Of course I know. I'm sorry Marcus it's just… sometimes it still bothers me, even if I know it's absurd."

"Hey, I get that okay?" Marcus said with a smile, looking at Leon, "In fact, I'm glad you said it was bothering you. You don't have to deal with these things alone. If it's ever bothering you, just tell me. We'll talk it over."

Leon chuckled again and looked at Marcus with a smile.

"Sometimes, I wonder if you're more like mom or dad." he said, nudging the vulpine.

"We'll, you definitely worry like dad does." Marcus said, playfully nudging his brother back, and Leon nodded in agreement with a smile.

The two sat in silence for a while until Leon finally decided to speak up.

"That captain was a pretty impressive fighter," Leon said.

"Yeah, tell me about." Marcus added, "His soldiers were a joke though."

"I honestly felt kind of bad for them most of the time I was fighting," Leon said with a chuckle, and Marcus chuckled as well.

"Do you think we'll run into more strong people like that?" Marcus asked, and Leon nodded.

"At least, I hope we do." Leon said, "That guy was pretty strong, but only by comparison to the rest of his soldiers. He wasn't _that_ good."

"I could've beaten him way faster if it wasn't for his stupid dampening plate," Marcus said with a frustrated sigh, "I shouldn't rely so much on my telepathy in battle. I'm at a _huge_ disadvantage when I can't use it."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Leon said with an encouraging tone, "You're still pretty tough without it. I'm sure most rookies wouldn't have lasted a second against that guy."

Marcus smiled at his brother's encouragement, and then he remembered something else about his battle with Captain Maine.

"I pulled off two electric shocks against him with my staff," Marcus said.

Leon looked at his brother in surprise.

"No way," he said, "And he didn't even get knocked out?"

"I don't think it damaged him at all," Marcus said as he shook his head, "One shock would knock a normal man out, but two would almost certainly kill him."

"Guess he _was_ pretty strong then," Leon commented.

"He said he was trained to resist it," Marcus said as he looked at his brother, "He said his master taught him how to resist Tasers, flash grenades, and tranquilizers through sheer will-power. Have you ever even heard of a technique like that?"

"Resisting shock and electric damage through sheer will power?" Leon said with a laugh, "No, of course not. That sounds like pure bologna to me. It probably had something to do with the red breast-plate he was wearing."

"But that was made of metal," Marcus added, "It would've amplified the effect of the shock, not nullified it."

Leon sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know Marcus," Leon said, "But I'm telling you, that kind of technique sounds like something from a cheesy comic book."

Marcus smiled and lied down on the bed, starring at the ceiling with his hands behind his head.

"Man, it would be such an advantage though," Marcus said in wonder, "Overcoming damage and injuries through sheer will-power would be like having an invisible shield across your entire body."

Leon chuckled and shook his head.

"You dream too much," Leon said.

Marcus let out a large sigh and closed his eyes.

"I hope we can get more team mates." Marcus said.

"Yeah," Leon said, "But they would have to be really insane to join us."

Both of the boys laughed with that last comment.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Growing Suspicions

Three days had passed since Star Fox's first mission. The news of their success spread like wildfire through the media. People on Cornaria were absolutely thrilled to hear that Star Fox was active again. Many news companies were working overtime to tell the whole world about the heroism of the pilots. Titles such as "Star Fox Reborn!" and "The Return of Corneria's Heroes!" plastered the newspapers all over the planet. Even though Corneria was not at war, the people were filled with a swelling sense of patriotic pride.

While the media praised the pilots for their victory against the pirates, the military looked at the success with a wide-range of mixed feelings. Some old veterans and a few rookies were pleased to hear of Star Fox's success, but many of the high ranking officers felt suspicious and jealous towards the pilot's. The military had given Star Fox their mission, however the program was law-enforcement, and the military had no jurisdiction over their actions. Many officers were angry not because Star Fox had performed poorly, but because they had performed far too well. In fact, they had performed so well that the military was wondering if they should keep a tighter leash around the program. Admiral Perry, a white-feathered avian who lead the second Cornarian fleet, was trying to explain these problems to Falco aboard the admirals flag-ship, _The First Eclipse._

"This is unnegotiable Falco!" Admiral Perry yelled as he slammed one of his wings down on the table in front of him. Falco was sitting apart from him with his wings and legs crossed. The blue avian looked perpetually bored "Whether you like it or not, Star Fox is going to be absorbed into the military, no matter what!"

"Admiral," Falco began with a disinterested voice, "Star Fox is a mercenary program. We don't fall under any branch of military. However, I'm happy to go under contract again."

"Contract!?" Admiral Perry yelled, feeling incredibly insulted, "You can't be serious! Do you honestly think the military will just accept you under a contract!?"

"Is that a problem?" Falco said as he raised on his eyebrows

"Of course it's a problem!" Admiral Perry yelled, and then he closed his eyes and sighed as he put his wings behind his back in a more formal way and began pacing back and forth, "When we gave you this mission, your team was specifically instructed to wipe out the pirates who were blockading the planet."

"And my team carried that order out perfectly," Falco replied with a more frustrated voice as he rested one of his elbows on his knee.

"You are incorrect captain," the admiral fired back as he shot an accusative glance at Falco, but then he closed his eyes again and continued pacing, "Your team did far more than they were instructed."

"Okay, now just hold a minute admiral. My team did not break any boundaries or go against any rules. Our secondary objective was to cripple the ship so we could take prisoners."

"Yes, it was!" Admiral Perry yelled again as he starred daggers at Falco and pointed a wing at him, "You were instructed to either destroy or cripple the ship, not board the damn thing!"

Falco sighed softly as he closed his eyes. He laid back against his chair and crossed his wings while he rested one of his legs on his knee.

"Yes admiral, my team did indeed board the ship," Falco said with, once again, a bored voice, "I don't see how that compromises anything."

"Are you even taking this seriously!?" Admiral Perry yelled as he placed both of his hands on the table.

"Not if you don't give me a serious problem," Falco replied with a smile as he opened one of his eyes to stare at the admiral.

"Alright captain, I'll give you the problems," Admiral Perry said with a more quiet, yet very annoyed voice as if he was trying to conceal his rage, "You're crewmembers are all very young and very inexperienced. However, on their first mission, they manage to board a ship filled with a crew of eighty pirates and a captain who's been evading the Federation for years now. Your team consisted of only _three_ pilots… yet they single-handedly took out eighty well-armed, dangerous criminals! You must be out of your mind if you think the military will just let rookies with that much power roam around without a leash!"

"Oh, I see what the problem is," Falco said as he closed his other eye again, "You're saying they're too strong for their own good, right?"

"Very good captain," the admiral replied with sarcasm as he gritted his teeth.

Falco chuckled softly.

"Don't be ridiculous admiral," Falco replied, "They're not the only Lylats in the system who have the ability to do stuff like that. In fact, I've heard a lot of rumors about your own legendary achievements."

Falco smiled and starred at the admiral with low eyes.

"Admiral Perry, the Guardian Phoenix of Katina," Falco said.

"I could care less for the titles given to me by others," the admiral said with a disinterested tone, "But I will say that if could show you a demonstration of my power, I would gladly do so by kicking your ass right now!"

"Is that a challenge?" Falco said as he opened his eyes and smiled at the admiral.

"As much as I'd like to, I'm not here to fight you captain," the admiral said as he turned his back to Falco, "And I've already told you why I am here."

"And I'm saying you're overreacting," Falco replied as he rested an elbow on his knee again, "Admiral, I promise I'll go under contract again. In fact, I'd have to anyway in order to get back into real business. However, there's no way me and my team are gonna get tied up permanently by the military. I'll keep an eye on my own men, you can count on that. And even if my men and I do go rouge, you can always just put us out of commission yourself, right?"

The admiral didn't respond at first, and he simply turned his head halfway around to glare at Falco from the corner of his eye.

"C'mon admiral," Falco said with a more encouraging voice, "If you're as strong as I heard, then a couple of rookies and a worn out veteran shouldn't be that much of a threat."

The admiral grunted and turned his head around again as he. Falco smiled and sat up more straight, seeing that the admiral was starting to go for the bait.

"You're pretty persuasive, I'll give you that," Admiral Perry said without smiling as he turned around.

"Part of my charm," Falco said as he struck a cocky little smile.

"Whatever," Admiral Perry said with a half-annoyed voice as he turned around again, "But don't expect to get off the hook so easily with this."

Before the two could continue their conversation, the intercom in Perry's office went off.

"Admiral Perry," a female voice called out, "Captain Davian is here. He says he has an urgent message for you."

"Sharan, I'm in the middle of a meeting right now. Tell him to-

"He says it's from the Fleet Admiral," the female voice interrupted.

"Oh, great," Admiral Perry said as he rolled his eyes and began walking towards the door, but before he opened it, he turned around towards Falco again and said, "This meeting is over, but the problem is still alive. I'm sure the captain is gonna tell me that I have to meet up with the Fleet Admiral, and I'll make sure I talk to him about this whole fiasco to see what he thinks about it."

Admiral Perry turned around again and opened the door. Falco quickly stood up to see who was on the other side. A grey-furred rabbit was standing at attention with a blue and yellow uniform on and a cap tucked underneath his arm. Falco's eyes widened a little when he saw the rabbit, and a humongous wave of nostalgia washed over him.

The rabbit looked just like a younger version of Peppy.

"Admiral, sir!" the rabbit said as he saluted his commanding officer.

"Forget the formality captain, and just tell me what the admiral wants," Admiral Perry said with an aggravated voice.

"Yes sir," the rabbit said as he quite saluting, "The Fleet Admiral needs to speak to you in person aboard his ship. He didn't tell me why."

"I knew it," Admiral Perry mumbled to himself, and then he looked at his captain with a frustrated expression and said, "Why the hell didn't you just send me a message through my transponder? You didn't have to meet me in person to tell me that."

The captain shifted uncomfortably and lost his formal stature. He blushed with embarrassment and looked down at the ground.

"Actually sir, there's another reason why I came in person," the rabbit said with a more nervous voice.

"Alright, what is it?" Admiral Perry asked impatiently.

"Well, I heard you were speaking to Captain Falco,"

"Yes, he's right here, now what do you want?" Admiral Perry asked, feeling even more impatient.

"I…if it's alright with you sir, I was wondering if I could talk to him myself," the rabbit asked as he looked up with more confidence on his face.

"Fine, I don't care," the Admiral responded as he moved aside and let his captain walk in, "But I want you both off my ship in one hour. I don't feel comfortable knowing you two are here while I'm not."

"Of course, thank you sir," the rabbit responded as he smiled at the admiral.

"Whatever," the admiral responded as he walked out, and while he closed the door behind him he shouted, "Sharan! Get my private transport ready. We're leaving."

The door closed, and Captain Davian turned around again to look at Falco, who was staring at him awkwardly with his beak half open. The rabbit smiled nervously and saluted him.

"Captain Falco sir," the rabbit said with the most formal voice he could conjure up.

Falco starred at the rabbit for a few more seconds as the gears in his head slowly turned. He closed his mouth and smiled as a memory finally came to him.

"Oh, of course!" Falco said with glee as he sat back down in his chair, "Your Peppy's grandson, aren't you?"

The rabbit looked a little surprised as his eyes and mouth slightly opened while he held his salute.

"You know me sir?"

"Yeah, but you probably don't remember me," Falco responded, and then he quite smiling when he saw the rabbit still holding his salute and added, "Uh, son you don't have to salute me. We're the same rank."

The rabbit smiled nervously and looked away as he quite saluting.

"C'mon captain," the rabbit responded with a nervous laugh, "You and I both know that you outrank me in both skill and experience."

"Considering your Peppy's grandson, I actually find that hard to believe," Falco added as he crossed his wings and smiled at the rabbit, "Now are you gonna take a seat, or are you just gonna stand there blushing like a girl on her first date?"

The rabbit looked at Falco again, and then he cleared his face of nervousness and nodded professionally as he sat down across from Falco.

"How do you know me sir?" the rabbit asked, "I heard about you from my father and grandfather, but I've never actually met you before."

"You were just a small child when I last saw you. It was at a friend and family gathering about fifteen or so years ago, so my memory on you is a little dusty. In fact, I can't even remember your name."

"Davian," the rabbit responded, "And I'm eighteen right now, so I must have only been three years old last time you saw me."

Falco's eyes widened when he heard Davian mention his age.

"Wait, you're already a captain? At your age!?"

"Yeah, I was promoted last year," Davian answered with a smile, "Admiral said I was way ahead of my time."

" _Actually, that doesn't surprise me,_ " Falco thought to himself as he smiled, " _He is your grandson after all, isn't he Peppy?_ "

"Well, Davian," Falco said as he rested his leg on his knee and leaned back into his chair, "You said you wanted to talk to me about something. What do you need?"

Davian scratched the back of his head and looked away as if he was trying to avoid the question. Falco quite smiling and looked at the rabbit with curiosity, but he realized something and suddenly closed his eyes and sighed as he looked down.

"Oh man, please don't tell me you want to join Star Fox," Falco said with a tired voice as he rested his forehead on both of his wings.

"No! No, that's not it at all sir," Davian quickly responded as he looked at Falco with wide eyes and shook his head.

"Ok, good," Falco said with a sigh as he took both of his wings off of his forehead and looked at the rabbit with a tired expression, "Because I already have three idiots who are driving me insane."

"Well, the thing is, I already have a crew and ship of my own, so I don't plan on switching out any time soon," Davian said with a small laugh.

"What kind of ship do you have?" Falco asked curiously.

"It's an assault cruiser, one of twenty in the Second Cornerian Fleet. It's about a quarter of the size of this ship."

"Does she have a name?"

Davian smiled and nodded.

"I call her _The Blazing Comet_ ," Davian said with pride, "She's one of the newer models that the military just recently started using. A bit tricky to handle sometimes with all the new improvements, but me and my men are starting to figure her out."

The two got carried away in their conversation and started talking about the newer and older designs of the Cornerian military ships. Falco found the rabbit very easy to befriend. Despite being nervous, the captain was very professional and polite, which were two things Falco was having a hard time finding in his own recruits, or even other officers in the military. In the middle of their conversation, Falco finally decided he wanted to know why Peppy's grandson wanted to talk to him.

"Davian, you came here to talk to me for a reason," Falco said while he crossed his arms and looked at the captain curiously, "now's the time to tell me what it was."

Davian smiled and scratched the back of his head.

"Well… I just wanted to talk to you really," Davian answered nervously, "Before he passed away, my grandfather always told me stories about you and Fox and Slippy flying through space and going on all sorts of adventures, so I just…"

Davian hesitated for a moment, but then he looked at Falco right in the eyes.

"I just wanted to know if they were real."

Falco smiled and nodded.

"They're real," he answered like it was just a fact, "Every single one of them."

Davian chuckled nervously.

"Man, that's so crazy," he said, "It's like I'm meeting a character from one of my childhood bedtime stories."

"Peppy told you a lot of them, huh?" Falco said with a smile.

"Every time he came over to see us," Davian answered, but then his smile disappeared, "I miss him a lot."

Falco closed his eyes and sighed.

"Yeah, losing him was a big blow to the whole team," Falco answered, "Even if we all saw it coming. Fox and I knew the man was getting old, and he knew it to, but that didn't make it any easier when he finally left."

"Gosh, you guys must have been like family," Davian answered as his ears dropped and he looked down, "I know my crew certainly feels that way to me."

"That's good," Falco said as he opened his eyes and smiled, "That means you care about them. Nothing is more important to a leader than having good chemistry with his followers."

Davian looked up and smiled back.

"You know, you're not really what I was expecting," Davian said with a small laugh.

Falco quite smiling and tilted his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Falco asked with genuine confusion.

"Well, based on the way Grandad described you, I was expecting you to be more…"

"Egotistical?" Falco deadpanned as his eyes dropped.

"Uh, well no I mean you're not as… exuberant!" Davian said with a reassuring tone, but he knew Falco had chosen a better word.

Falco chuckled and rested his head behind his wings.

"Well, that's probably because I'm getting older," he answered with a sigh, "When you start reaching my age, your start learning more about yourself. And one of the most important things you learn is that you're not as great as you think."

Davian laughed.

"Oh man, I wish that was true for everybody your age," Davian said, "You should see some of the…"

Davian stopped talking and quickly cleared his throat and shook his head. Falco looked at the rabbit and smiled.

"What, you afraid Admiral Perry has this room wired and is listening to everything you say?" Falco asked as he sat up straight and looked at the rookie with a piercing stare, "Just commit a little insubordination and tell me."

"No, it's not him," Davian answered, "in fact, he's one of the better officers believe it or not. Yeah, he's pretty full of himself at times, but he's a good leader and he cares about his men. But you should see some of the other captains I work with. It's absolutely ridiculous how uncooperative they are. And they're much older than me too!"

"Well, some people don't ever learn I guess," Falco said as he leaned back into his chair again.

A few seconds passed without either captain speaking, and they both sat in an awkward silence. Falco noticed how uneasy Davian looked as the rookie tapped his finger while he stared blankly at the table in front of him. It was easy for Falco to deduct that Davian was still keeping something from him. At first, Falco wondered if he should just ask the rookie what was up, but he decided to wait it out instead. His patience eventually paid off.

"Captain Falco`, there's a real reason why I came to talk with you," Davian said as he turned to look up at Falco.

Falco sat up straight and crossed his wings.

"Just call me Falco kid. None of my friends address me by my rank."

"So…we're friends then?" Davian asked with a nervous voice.

Falco laughed.

"Well, that's up to you to decide," Falco said with a smile

Davian smiled back and nodded.

"Yeah, ok. I think I can trust you," Davian said with a reassured voice.

"What's going on kid?" Falco asked, "Tell me what's on your mind."

"Ok," Davian said as he readjusted himself to look more fully at Falco, but he wore a very disturbed look on his face, "I don't really know how I'm supposed to explain this to you, but I guess I'll just start by saying that, right now, things are getting pretty… weird."

Davian's disturbed tone caused Falco to stop smiling.

"You're gonna have to be a little more specific kid,"

"What I mean to say is that the military is acting really off-balanced lately. All the superior officers from vice-admiral above are acting as if something's about to happen. The vice-admirals directly above me wouldn't say a thing when I asked them why they were acting so cautious, and Admiral Perry keeps having these private meetings with the Fleet Admiral."

Falco smiled and felt a small sense of relief fall over him. He chuckled and sighed.

"It's nothing kid, trust me," Falco said, "There's probably just some technical issues right now with ranks or equipment, and they want to keep it secret to avoid embarrassment. You're young and inexperienced, so I know why this might scare you. But it's just a common sense of fear from embarrassment that higher-ranked officers get, nothing more."

"That's actually what I thought as well," Davian said without sounding any calmer, "But Falco, trust me when I say this is _very_ different."

Falco quite smiling, and he felt his anxiety rise a little bit.

"I've been doing a lot of research in the public files back at HQ," Davian continued, "The military and the government are lying. The Lylat System is nowhere nearly as stable as they say it is. Strange things are happening right now. Crime is starting to grow again on unregulated planets. Insurrectionists and terrorists are starting to show their faces more often. Some private planets and locations sealed off to the public by the government have gone completely quite, and nobody has said _anything_ about it!"

"All right, all right kid, _slow down_ ," Falco said as he made a calming gesture with his wings, "You can't just jumble out all of this information and expect me to get anything from it if you aren't a little more calm and specific."

"I'm sorry," Davian said as sweat poured from his forehead, "I'm just a little scarred, that's all."

"Just take it easy kid," Falco said with a soft smile, "It's not like we're at war right now."

"No we're not, but what I'm telling you is that we're not at peace either."

Falco closed his eyes without breaking his smile.

"The Lylat System has never been fully at peace kid. We've just had more peaceful periods than others."

"But something's causing all of this!" Davian said a little bit frantically, "This kind of stuff doesn't just happen. Things are getting worse!"

"You're probably right kid," Falco said as he opened his eyes, "And there's probably someone who's doing all of the cooking."

Davian looked at Falco with surprise. He was not expecting the avian to give him such a response without any sign of caution or concern.

"Wait, you mean you _believe_ me?" Davian asked with uncertainty.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Falco responded with a casual tone, "I can tell just by looking at you that you're not the kind of person who would spread lies for attention."

Falco's coolness helped Davian's anxiety fade a little more. He looked down and closed his eyes as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Then why do you seem so _calm_?" Davian asked with both frustration and curiosity, "If you think I'm telling you the truth, why aren't you more concerned?"

"Would worrying help anything?"

Davian opened his eyes and looked back at Falco, who was still wearing a smug smile.

"Look, bad things are gonna happen anyway Davian," Falco said with a stern, yet calming voice, "If lots of things are happening right now, then yes, there's definitely someone orchestrating everything. In fact, there're probably _many_ people behind all of the chaos. But that's what bad people do Davian. They cause chaos, fear, disorder, and conflict all for their own personal gain. And that's also why there are good guys like you and me who have to stop them, but there's one very important lesson you have to learn to be a soldier Davian."

Falco stood up from his chair and walked over to the rabbit, who looked extremely intrigued by the avians words of wisdom.

"What…what's that sir?" Davian asked.

Falco pointed a wing at Davian, and he starred at his so directly and so fiercely, it was almost as if he was looking right into Davian's soul.

"Never, ever, _ever,_ let your fear get to your head. That's exactly what your enemy wants. When he's got you scarred, he's accomplished his mission and already won the war. I'm not saying you should underestimate your enemy and be reckless. What I'm saying is that you shouldn't be neither scarred nor foolish, but instead fearless and strategic. And that is the ultimate key to being a real soldier."

Davian took in Falco's words like a man dying of thirst would accept a gallon of water. The avians boldness and wisdom filled him with confidence and reassurance. His fear and anxiety quickly diminished, however a rising sense of guilt took its place.

"This is so embarrassing," Davian said as his ears dropped and he looked away from Falco's eyes, "I shouldn't have panicked like that. I just didn't know what else to do. So many things were going through my head and I-

"You're just inexperienced," Falco interrupted, "That's not something you can really learn through education. You just pick it up over time."

"But I'm a captain," Davian said, "Captains don't lose their head like that. My men rely on me, and if they saw me like this right now, they would probably never feel safe with me as their leader again."

"You're wrong. Captains have anxiety all the time. In fact, did you know Fox McCloud was one of the most paranoid men I ever knew?"

Davian looked up at Falco with wide eyes, and Falco laughed at his look of surprise.

"Oh yeah, he was _very_ concerned about his crew. When your grandfather retired for good, Fox took full command of the team and became our captain. The conversation I'm having with you right now, well, I must have had it a hundred timeswith him."

"You mean, he was…?"

Falco smiled and nodded.

"Believe it or not, the legendary Fox McCloud felt fear,"

Davian sighed and looked away. A small smile spread across his muzzle.

"Well, that makes me feel a little bit better," Davian said with a relieved voice, "still though, I feel like a little kid for doing this. I shouldn't have wasted your time sir, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Falco said with a smile, "I'm actually glad you told me. If you feel like something odd is going on, don't be afraid to tell me about it."

Falco walked over and sat back down in his chair. He put a wing under his chin, looking like he was in deep thought.

"We shouldn't panic," Falco said after a while, causing Davian to look back up at him, "but we shouldn't let our guard down either. If there's danger rising in the Lylat System, we need to be prepared for it."

Davian's expression was serious now, and the rabbit nodded in agreement.

"For now, there's not much we can do but wait," Falco continued, "Something big enough for the military to get involved is bound to come up sooner or later. Davian, I need you to do something for me."

Davian nodded without hesitation.

"Whatever you need sir,"

"I need you to be my eyes while you're under Perry's command. Keep a look out for any more strange reports or behaviors. You seem to be well-informed, so I'm counting on you for information regarding disorder in the Lylat System. I'm gonna be busy with a lot of other stuff, so I won't have time to look into it myself."

"Yes sir!" Davian said as he stood up and saluted Falco, "I will be your eyes and ears out in the field from now on!"

"Same rank kid, we already went over this,"

"Oh, right," Davian said as he quite saluting and blushed violently, "sorry sir."

Falco stood up and walked over to Davian, offering the rabbit is hand. Davian smiled promptly and shook it.

"It was nice to finally meet you sir," Davian said, "and thanks a lot for helping me out. I'm glad I have someone I know I can trust."

"Same here," Falco responded, "you seem like a good kid Davian. Give me a call some time and I'll introduce you to the rest of my crew. I'm sure Marcus, Leon, and Coby would all be excited to meet the grandson of commander Peppy."

"I'm sure my men would be more excited to see them sir," Davian said with a laugh, "everybody on my ship was cheering you guys on when they heard about your victory."

"Well, it's nice to know _some_ people in the military support us," Falco said with a relieved sigh as he and Davian walked towards the door and out of Perry's office.

Falco and Davian walked until they reached the hanger of _The First Eclipse._ The two captains bid each other one last fare-well before they boarded their private ships and headed out into space. While he was flying back towards The Great Fox, Falco turned on the communicator in his ship and made a call. Falco waited until Leon's holographic image appeared on the dashboard in front of him.

"Captain," Leon said with a smile and a salute, "how'd the meeting with the admiral go?"

"Better than expected, actually. Admiral Perry is still unsure about us, but I'm sure he'll let us remain as a private unit,"

"That's good to hear," Leon replied with a small sigh as he stopped saluting, "to be honest, we were all kind of worried he'd force us into a military unit,"

"Let me do the worrying private," Falco said with a smile, "also, I have some surprising news. While I was in my meeting with Admiral Perry, an unexpected guest arrived. I didn't fully recognize him at first, but it turns out he was the grandson of Peppy Hare,"

"No way!" Leon said with a surprised and excited look on his face, "You mean the previous commander of the Great Fox?"

"Yep, my old boss. Technically, the commander before me was Fox. Peppy was before him, but we've all seen Peppy as the real commander of the Great Fox, even Fox himself,"

"Man, that's pretty fortunate to run into his grandson like that,"

"Fortune had nothing to do with it. The guy actually planned on meeting me when he heard I was aboard his admiral's flag ship,"

"What's his name and rank?" Leon asked with curiosity.

"His name's Davian. And you're not gonna believe this, but he's already a captain at eighteen years old,"

"Holy smokes," Leon said in awe, "and I thought Marcus was young for his position,"

"Guess not," Falco replied as he looked back at his controls and began typing in the coordinates for the Great Fox, "listen, we have lot's to talk about. I'll tell you guys more when I reach the Great Fox, but I have to leave this area before Perry's fleet starts getting suspicious,"

"Understood sir," Leon said with a salute, "see you aboard the Great Fox,"

Falco nodded and cut off the transmission with Leon. He then finished typing in the coordinates, and then strapped fully in to his seat. He pressed the launch button and his ship blasted off into hyper-space, taking him to the location of The Great Fox.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: A New Era of Chaos

Falco's transport exited hyper-space, and Falco could see the Great Fox looming in front of him as he starred through his view-port. He quickly piloted his ship into the hanger and landed. He got out of his transport and headed up into the bridge, where his entire crew was already waiting for him. Marcus was working at one of the terminals, and the vulpine spun around in his chair and smiled when he saw his captain.

"You're back!" Marcus said as he stood up from his chair and saluted Falco.

Coby and Leon got up from their chairs as well and saluted their captain, and Falco gave them all a hand gesture telling them to be at ease.

"You three might want to sit down," Falco said as he walked over to his chair in the center of the room and plopped down in it, "We've got a lot to discuss,"

The three pilots proceeded to sit back down, and Falco spun around in his command chair to face them.

"We heard about Davian," Marcus said with excitement, "is he really the grandson of commander Peppy?"

"We'll get to that in a moment," Falco said as he sat up straight in his chair, "but for now, we have other matters to discuss. As you all know, the surviving pirates we defeated on our last mission have all been taken into custody and have been interrogated by the authorities. Unfortunately, none of them knew anything about a secret organization or a specific commander, and we can assume that the pirates were simply bandits and criminals hired to do their job with no questions asked. Many of them already had a criminal record and were wanted men on several different planets in the Lylat Federation."

"But they seemed really organized." Leon said as he leaned forward in his chair, "They had officers, squads, and even ranks. Seemed a little more efficient then a band of scallywag pirates."

Falco nodded in agreement.

"I believe that is the work of this man," Falco said as he pulled up a holographic image of the lion captain Marcus and Leon fought.

Marcus's eyes squinted as he looked at the image and his head tilted. He realized that the lion looked much more formal, wearing a typical officer's uniform for the Lylat Federal Army instead of a red metal, laser proof breast plate. The lion was standing fully at attention, and nobody would have ever guessed that this man was also a pirate.

"Isn't that the captain me and Leon fought?" Marcus asked, putting a hand under his chin in a curios fashion.

Falco nodded.

"Lieutenant Samuel Maine." Falco said, still holding up the hologram, "This was a hologram taken of him about a year before his… incident."

"His incident?" Leon asked.

"About two years ago, he went on a rampage and started killing several of his own crewmates aboard his ship, including the captain he was under," Falco answered.

Both Marcus and Leon gasped and looked at Falco with expressions of surprise.

"I think I've actually heard about this," Coby said as he put a paw under his chin, "But I don't remember hearing anything else about it,"

"Why on earth would he do that?" Marcus asked.

"He said that they were weak," Falco answered, "He said that the Lylat government was becoming too soft, and that his own people should rise up and become the dominate race in the system, even though he killed a few lion princes who were privates aboard his ship."

"Looking at him now, he doesn't really seem like the person to do that." Leon stated, crossing his arms with a disturbed look on his face.

"It was a surprise to the military," Falco said, "but after tracing back further into his history and his journals, they learned he was actually a radical who had always had 'violent ideal' about racial domination. He also has a history of being unpredictable and short-tempered, more so then the rest of his people that is. After slaughtering about thirty crewmembers aboard his ship, he took the admirals personal transport and went missing. Nobody had heard of him since, until you two encountered him three days ago aboard the pirate transport."

"So you think he's the reason these pirates were organized?" Marcus asked.

"Yes," Falco answered, "we believe that he used his military expertise and training to organize his little band of pirates into a more effective military force. Coby told me he ran into a squad of heavily armored bulldogs. Marcus, you said that one of the squads you encountered managed to form a sloppy but effective firing line, and Leon said the squads he ran into pulled of an ambushing technique. As crude as the nature might be of all of these units, they all follow standard military fashion, which also helps to explain why the Cornerian law-enforcement had a lot of trouble dealing with them."

"Why were there so many pirates aboard the ship though?" Coby asked, "The only thing the ship had in ways of combat efficiency were the fighters it could launch, but you wouldn't need a crew a tenth of the size that we fought in order to fly that thing."

"The vast majority of the crew acted as a boarding part." Falco answered, "When the ship raided merchant vessels or commercial transports, the crew would board the ship, killing or capturing everyone on board when the pirate transport managed to dock with it. Ship security on any vessel would be completely overwhelmed by a force that large."

"Jeez, talk about overkill" Marcus said, scratching the back of his head.

"Well that explains the nature of the pirates we were fighting," Leon said, "but there are several things that don't make any since. The computers were wiped clean and the captain committed suicide before giving away any actual information about his organization. What on earth could he possibly be trying to cover up? I mean, even crime syndicates wouldn't go as far as suicide to cover their trail, unless there's a whole lot of family loyalty or instigated fear."

"Unfortunately, we don't really know." Falco said with a sigh, "Like I already said, the criminals that were captured knew nothing about the purpose of their work. They were just following orders with promise of pay and loot. It's obvious that this whole raiding scenario was more than just a looting scheme, and it's even more obvious that the captain was under the command of another person,"

"So, do you know anything else?" Marcus asked, feeling his curiosity rise by the second.

"Fortunately, I did manage to gather some information while I was away meeting with Admiral Perry," Falco said with a smile, "After we were done speaking to each other, Peppy's grandson had a talk with me,"

"Oh yeah!" Marcus said, remembering the important fact he had completely forgotten after Falco started talking, "What was that guy like, by the way?"

"His name's Davian" Falco responded, "Pretty nice kid. A little paranoid about some stuff, but he's seems like a capable soldier,"

"Wait a minute, this is perfect!" Marcus said with glee as his tail wagged, "You can invite him into-

"No," Falco quickly said before Marcus could finish his request.

"But, why not?" Marcus asked with a whiney voice, "C'mon Falco! He's probably perfect for-

"He's already a captain Marcus," Leon quickly cut in.

"So what!?" Marcus asked again, sounding more annoyed.

"So, he already has a ship and crew," Falco answered as he glared at the vulpine, "Besides, I already have three rookies. I _don't_ need another one."

"Aw man," Marcus said with disappointment as he looked down at the ground while his ears dropped, "That blows,"

"Wait a minute," Coby said, deciding to join the conversation, "Did you say he was already a _captain_?"

"Yeah, and he's only eighteen years old," Falco said with a smile.

"Wow, I guess Marcus wasn't the only one who graduated early," Coby said with surprise.

"Guess not," Falco said, "But what's more important here is what Davian told me,"

Marcus's ears perked back up as he looked at Falco.

"When Davian met up with me, he seemed very nervous. It took me a while to get him to talk, but he finally confessed what was bothering him. He said the upper-ranks in the military are acting more cautious than usual. At first, I thought it was just stress, but Davian told me other stuff as well. He's been doing a lot of information digging back at HQ. Apparently, the Lylat System isn't as peaceful and stable as we thought it was,"

The three rookies looked at Falco with surprise.

"Are we at war?" Leon asked.

"No, but we're not at peace either," Falco said, "Apparently, crime and terrorism are starting to rise again. I guess Captain Main's appearance explains all of this though. Really, it's not that surprising to me."

"Do you think what Captain Maine said was relevant? About his boss making a move in the system?" Marcus asked.

"I doubt one man is responsible for all of this," Falco replied, "My guess is that many people and organizations are tied to this rise of chaos in the Lylat System. This 'commander' that Captain Maine spoke of is just another piece of the game. Warlords and dictators always speak of making some 'big move' so this is just another demonstration of that bloated arrogance,"

"So, you think he was lying?" Leon asked.

"Probably not lying," Falco replied, "but he's definitely way in over his head. However, there is one thing that he did say that was true,"

"What's that?" Coby asked.

Falco got up from his chair and put both of his wings behind his back. He walked over to the view-port window that showed the vast, dark void of space.

"Things are gonna start happening in the Lylat System," Falco said with a low, grim tone as he narrowed his eyes.

Coby, Marcus, and Leon all leaned forward in their seats to hear Falco better. The rookies were completely intrigued by their captain's words.

"To be honest, I've felt it for a while now," Falco continued, still with that grim tone, "Even before Captain Maine's raid and my conversation with Davian, I knew stuff was happening in the Lylat System. I felt it. Things didn't seem…right. Everything was too quiet. I've always had a six-sense for hidden danger, and it's been going off a lot more than usual,"

Falco turned around and walked back to his crewmembers.

"I have a strong feeling that Captain Maine's attack was just the beginning of a new era of chaos for the Lylat System," Falco stated with authority, "Pretty soon, things will start heating up real bad, and the military will call for our help again. We can no longer be just a law-enforcement unit. I'm getting us back under contract with the military. Stay alert men. When the next mission comes, it will be much greater than a simple pirate raid,"

As soon as he had finished, Falco's rookies did something he was not really suspecting. They all stood up from their chairs and got into a straight line, and saluted their captain.

"Captain," Leon said, "we're under your command, sir. No matter what happens, none of us will leave this unit,"

Falco smiled at the three rookies and saluted them back.

" _So this is how you felt with us, huh Peppy?"_ Falco thought to himself.

"Thank you for your time gentlemen," Falco said as he quiet saluting his men, "You're all dismissed,"

Leon was about to head into his room until he was stopped by his brother.

"Hey man, can I talk to you for a second?" Marcus asked with a concerned voice, grabbing his brother's shoulder.

Leon sighed heavily and then turned around to look at Marcus with low, droopy eyes and a long face.

"What is it Marcus?" Leon asked with a low, almost inaudible voice.

Marcus noticed how tired his brother looked, and he smiled warmly at him, but Leon didn't return the gesture.

"What's wrong dude?" Marcus asked, "You look worn out."

"It's nothing." Leon said, closing his eyes as he slowly turned around to walk back in his room.

"You haven't been sleeping at all have you?" Marcus asked with wide eyes, stepping in front of his brother to block his entry.

"Marcus please," Leon said, rubbing his eyes, "I don't want to do this right now. Just let me-

" _Tell me_ what's going on." Marcus asked with a stern voice, but there was still warmness and concern in it.

Leon sighed heavily again and then he spoke.

"Okay yes, I haven't been sleeping." Leon said, "I've just been thinking a lot lately."

"Thinking about what?" Marcus asked.

Leon closed his eyes and looked down at the ground with shame. He didn't speak for a while, but there was definitely something tugging at his soul and mind. Marcus wasn't even trying to read his mind, and Leon could tell the vulpine was trying his absolute best to be patient.

"When we boarded that ship," Leon began, "I was absolutely terrified that I would find my father driving it,"

Marcus didn't say anything, and he simply nodded slowly as he understood his brother's fear.

"I don't know what I would've done Marcus," Leon said as he put a hand on his forehead, "What if it was him fighting you? What if I was forced to fight my own father? What if-

"But it _wasn't_ him Leon," Marcus quickly cut in, trying to calm his brother down. He could tell Leon was really starting to panic.

"What about the commander?" Leon asked as he looked back up at Marcus with wide, terrified eyes, "Marcus, what if it's him? This is the exact kind of crazy thing he would do!What if my father is back in the-

" _Stop_ ," Marcus sternly said as he grabbed his brother's shoulders and looked him dead in the eye, "Just stop Leon. You are going to have a heart-attack from paranoia if you keep thinking like this. And think about it man. Does this really sound like something your father would do? He wouldn't play like that! Your father always got his hands dirty on his own missions. He wouldn't send somebody under his command to do the work for him. I don't know who this commander, but it's not Wolf O'Donnell. If he was back in the business, he would be doing his own dirty work,"

Leon didn't say anything for a while, and he simply stared back at the floor, away from Marcus's eyes. He finally looked back at Marcus and smiled weakly before hugging him, and Marcus hugged him back, smiling as well.

"I'm exhausted." Leon said with a muffled voice into Marcus's shoulder.

"Yeah, I know you big baby." Marcus said, patting Leon's back.

Marcus could feel Leon's body leaning heavily against him, and he noticed he had fallen asleep. Marcus realized how heavy the lupine was when he struggled to hold him up.

"Leon," Marcus said with a red face as he struggled to hold his sleeping brother, "Leon, please wake up. I can hardly breathe!

Leon didn't answer, and Marcus rolled his eyes. He wrapped both of his arms under Leon's armpits and began dragging his brother into his room.

"Unbelievable," Marcus said, gritting his teeth, "you sleep like a freaking log!"

Marcus finally managed to reach Leon's bed and he stopped when he was right next to it. He tossed his brother onto his bed and then rested his hands on his knees, gasping for air. Marcus then grabbed Leon's legs and lifted them up onto the bed as well so that the lupine was lying completely on the mattress.

"Man alive," Marcus said as he gasped for air, "why do you way so much you fatty!?"

As he left the room, Marcus turned off the light and closed the door.

END OF PART 2

* * *

 **IMPORTANT UPDATE: Wow, already done with Part 2!**

 **So, I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that, yes, I am working on Part 3. However, the bad news is that I don't have a specific date I can give you guys for when it will be released. There are two reasons as to why this has happened**

 **1\. It's nearing the end of the school year, so I've been absolutely bombarded with tests, projects, and papers. March was a really rough month for me, and April is even worse. School has really cut down on my writing time.**

 **2\. Part 3 is turning out to be WAY longer than I originally anticipated. Each chapter is now 5000 or more words, and the plot is gonna take a lot longer to develop in this one than the last two.**

 **My only guess is that it will be out some time late May or early June (However I will be on a Mission Trip from May 29th to June 4th, so it certainly won't be during that time.) If I can miraculously find enough time to write, it might even be in early May, but that's highly unlikely.**

 **I would take a two week brake and then start my one chapter a week schedule, but that's giving me only six weeks to finish all of Part 3 (I have four chapters already done, plus a two week break, so that's six weeks), and there's no freaking way I'd be able to complete it in that time span. April and May are going to be absolutely insane thanks to finals. (Junior year is really difficult)**

 **During that time, I'll probably release some little one-shots/short stories, but I can't guarantee any more dates. I don't want to give my readers a specific date and then not post that day.** **So if you guys want to wait for Part 3, I suggest you just come check it out sometime in late May or early June, or you can just follow me and/or my story.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all have enjoyed my story so far! If you found something you particularly liked or didn't like, write a review or PM me about it (Reviews and criticism are fuel for writers!)**

 **Have a great day, and God bless all of you!**


	23. Chapter 23

Part 3: War Rising

Chapter 23: Private Business

Silence inhabited the Great Fox. The ship sat motionlessly inside one of Corneria's many docking bays, and the crew wandered through deep slumber in their beds.

Leon's eyes slowly lifted as he woke up from his placid sleep. He repeatedly blinked for a few seconds, and then threw his covers off of himself before lazily sitting up on the side of his bed. Leon stretched his arms and closed his eyes as he let out a large yawn. He was shirtless, wearing only red stripped pajama pants with white boxers. Leon rubbed his left eye and scratched the side of his ribcage as he struggled to stand up, overtaken with sleepiness. The room was almost completely dark, and because of Leon's lack of visibility and the fact that his mind was only half awake, the lupine walked right into his door. He let out a surprised grunt as he slammed his nose against the metal. With a small stumble and a shake of his head, Leon gave several wide eyed blinks before reaching down for the doorknob. After about thirty seconds of effortless searching, Leon finally found the doorknob and he walked out of his room, closing the door behind him.

Leon trapesed down the corridor of the living quarters like a mummy that had awoken after several centuries of slumber. His eyes were bloodshot and droopy. His walk was slow and uneven with each step. He constantly found a need to stretch both his arms and his legs as he walked. He yawned several times, showing all of his teeth and his tongue as he stretched his jaw and tightly closed his eyes. It was only 6:00 in the morning, and Leon was half-convinced to head back to bed, but he thought better of it, deciding it was more efficient to get up early then risk falling into the habit of sleeping in.

Leon stopped walking as he heard the sound of someone snoring coming from one of the rooms. As he walked towards the room, the snoring got louder and louder with each step. When he finally reached it, he opened the door and saw Coby sleeping on the bed, sprawled out without sheets and snoring loudly with his mouth open as drool poured out onto his covers. The raccoon hadn't even bothered to climb out of his orange jacket and uniform. His hat was covering his eyes and the top of his head, but his open jaw remained exposed. Leon grimaced in disgust and rolled his eyes as he closed the door to his comrade's room.

"That was a pleasant sight," Leon mumbled to himself as he walked away from the room and the sound of the snoring raccoon.

Leon yawned one more time before entering the lounging area of the Great Fox. When he walked in, he began brewing a cup of coffee from a machine that was already built in to the wall. While the machine did its work, Leon turned around and noticed a blue vulpine sitting down at one of the tables. The teenager appeared to be sleeping, and the side of his head rested on both of his arms on the table. Leon walked over and snapped his fingers right next to the vulpine's ear.

The vulpine's ear twitched twice and he turned his head and pressed his face into his arms.

Leon smiled and snapped his fingers two more times right next to the teen's ears.

The vulpine's body shifted and he began rubbing his ear as he let out a large, muffled groan.

Leon chuckled and snapped three more times, and the vulpine squinted his eyes and covered his ears with his hands before Leon could make the third snap.

"What're yu doin!?" Marcus mumbled with a tired and agitated voice, not mothering to lift his face from the table.

"Rise and Shine!" Leon said with an overly exuberant motherly voice.

"Go awaaaay." Marcus mumbled again as he took his hands off of his ears and laid his face back onto his arms.

"C'mon you little pup, wake up." Leon said normally as he snapped one of his fingers against Marcus's head.

"Ow! What the heck dude!?" Marcus said with a tired voice as he turned his head up to look at his brother with red, squinted eyes.

Leon laughed and walked back over to the coffee machine, and Marcus gave a large sigh as he sat up straight in his chair.

"Coffee?" Leon asked while the machine began pouring out the black, caffeinated liquid into his own mug.

"No thanks, I'm good." Marcus said as he stretched his arms over his head and gave a large yawn.

Leon shrugged and walked over to Marcus's table. He sat across from the vulpine and began sipping his hot beverage.

"Are we the only ones up?" Marcus asked with a tired voice as he rubbed both of his eyes.

"Yeah, Coby is still asleep." Leon answered.

"What time is it?" Marcus asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"Six in the morning." Leon said as he sipped his coffee.

Marcus laid his elbows on the table and put his forehead on his hands.

"Then why did you wake me up?" he asked with an agitated tone.

"Because I wanted someone else to talk to." Leon answered with a smile.

Marcus sighed again and pulled his hands away from his forehead, crossing his arms on the table.

"Why are you up so early anyway?" Marcus asked while he stared at his brother's eyes.

"I don't want to get in the habit of sleeping in, so I might as well get up early," Leon said as he placed his mug on the table and leaned back in his chair.

Marcus nodded and yawned again before he stood up from his chair and began walking over to the coffee machine.

"I thought you said you didn't want any." Leon remarked as Marcus pulled one of the mugs out of the cabinet right next to the machine.

"Yeah, well that was earlier." Marcus said lazily.

"What, you mean twenty seconds ago?" Leon asked with a smirk as he readjusted his body to face Marcus.

"Whatever." Marcus said with a disinterested sigh as the machine began brewing the coffee, "I need _something_ to wake me up."

Leon leaned back to grab his mug and sipped his coffee again.

"By the way," Leon began while his brother sat back down with a coffee mug, "why were you sleeping in here?"

Marcus stopped his mug at his lips. He rolled his eyes and groaned at Leon's question.

"Coby." Marcus said with an agitated tone as he took a sip of his beverage.

Leon's eyebrow raised at his brother's vague answer, but then he remembered seeing the raccoon in a pathetic display, sprawled out and snoring on his bed.

"Wait, did his snoring keep you up?" Leon asked, leaning forward with a curios smile on his face.

"Of course it kept me up!" Marcus yelled, more awake thanks to the coffee, "How could it not keep me up!? His room is right next to mine, and his snoring is ridiculously loud! It's like trying to sleep right next to a truck that can't turn off!"

When he stopped yelling, an awkward silence overtook the room for a few seconds. Leon then burst out laughing at his brother's unexpected ecstasy of anger.

"Oh, shut up!" Marcus scolded, but Leon didn't stop laughing, "You would not be laughing if it was your room!"

"But it's not my room!" Leon said as he tried to recollect himself, "I've never seen you get so angry like that. It came out of nowhere!"

"I couldn't sleep at all." Marcus said, covering his face with his hands.

Leon stopped laughing and took another sip of his coffee, but he giggled while he drank the beverage.

"Seriously though Leon, can we switch rooms or something?" Marcus asked with his hands still on his face, "Even for just one night?"

"No way!" Leon said with a smile as he put his mug back on the table, "I'm not going through that!"

Marcus let out a large groan and put his head back on the table.

"Oh, you'll be fine you big baby," Leon said, "Besides, yesterday was the last day we were supposed to look after the ship anyway. Falco should be back this evening,"

Two weeks had passed since the rookie's last saw their captain. The day after Falco's meeting with Admiral Perry, the avian put Star Fox back under contract with the military and landed the Great Fox at one of the Cornerian military space ports. However, before he left, Falco gave the rookies a simple, yet strange objective. To the surprise of the rookies, the order involved nothing in regards to combat, patrol, or anything that required them to move around. Instead, Falco ordered them to stay onboard the Great Fox (or "hold down the fort" in Falco's words) while he was gone, so the rookies had been stuck on the cruiser with very little to do.

"I don't get it," Marcus groaned as he lifted up his head and sipped his coffee, "why did Falco tell us to stay on this lousy ship anyway? The ship is completely safe in the space port, so there's no reason to stand guard or anything."

"Knowing Falco, it probably doesn't have to do with the ship's safety," Leon commented, "I bet you this is some sort of training exercise to make us get used to the ship,"

Marcus sighed and got up from his chair.

"Where are you going?" Leon asked.

"To get showered and dressed," Marcus yawned as he walked out of the lounge, "if I'm gonna be up, I might as well be ready for the day,"

Leon nodded in agreement, and he got up from his own seat and headed to his own room.

About two hours later, Coby's alarm went off and the raccoon dragged himself out of bed. After showering and getting dressed into another uniform (although it was nearly identical to the one he was wearing in bed), the raccoon saw nothing else to do besides head to the lounge. When he arrived, he saw his two comrades, already showered and in uniform. Leon carefully read his book like a test assignment while Marcus drew in his notebook.

"Well this is new." Coby said as he walked over to the coffee machine, "You guys are never up this early."

Two hours earlier, and Marcus would be scolding the raccoon for keeping him up at night, but instead he just gave a quick glare at him and went right back to his drawing.

Coby grabbed his mug of coffee and walked over to Leon, starring at the title of the lupine's book.

"Secret Tactics of the Canine Tribes," Coby read out loud, "Wow, do you ever read anything that doesn't have to with war?"

"Of course." Leon said, not looking away from his novel, "I read history books all the time."

"Yeah, but only the ones that cover wars!" Coby exclaimed.

"Well, war makes really exciting history doesn't it?" Leon said with a menacing smile.

"Pretty twisted thing to say, war-mongering lupine," Coby said as he walked over to Marcus.

When Coby looked at Marcus's drawing, he recognized the picture as the Great Fox docked in a hanger. The detail of the ship showed like the masterwork of a true artist. Marcus even took the time to draw each of the crewmembers as they looked up to the vessel. Coby couldn't help but smile at the vulpine's drawing. It always showed the true depths of Marcus's wonderful creativity and imagination.

"Nice picture." Coby said plainly.

"It's not the first time I've tried," Marcus said as he erased a small portion of shading and then began carefully drawing it again, "I had to get a better look at the ship, which hasn't really been a problem for the past two weeks,"

Coby laughed.

"We've had lots of bonding time with this rust bucket, haven't we?" Coby said as he sat down in the chair opposite to Marcus.

"That hasn't been a problem for you though has it, grease monkey?" Leon said with a mocking tone as he looked at the raccoon with low eyes.

"No, it hasn't," Coby answered, unashamed with a smile, "In fact, unlike you two, I've been making a wide variety of modifications and enhancements while we've been here,"

"That reminds me," Marcus said as he looked up from his drawing and addressed Coby, "Have you finished your little project with this ship yet?"

"Which one?" Coby asked, "I have lots of projects Marcus,"

"But I'm talking about the really complicated one,"

Coby took a couple of seconds to think about Marcus's question, but then he remembered and nodded his head.

"Oh, are you talking about the new automated laser turrets I was going to add to the sides of the ship for extra defense?" Coby asked.

"Yeah, you showed me one of the prototypes," Marcus said, "Are they ready yet?"

Coby sighed and shook his head.

"They're nowhere close to being done yet," Coby said with disappointment, "I've barely managed to build one prototype, and I've been working on that one for nearly a month now,"

"But can't you just copy the prototype and build more?" Marcus asked.

"It doesn't work like that," Coby replied, "The prototype isn't the finished project. I still need to run a bunch of tests with it since it's loaded with dozens of design flaws and bugs. Copying it now would be a huge waste of time,"

"What's the biggest problem right now?" Marcus asked as he leaned forward in his seat, intrigued by the conversation.

"Lots of things actually. Lots and lots of things. Working alone doesn't really help. It'd be nice if I had an engineering team to work with,"

"Maybe me and Leon could help," Marcus said with an encouraging voice and smile.

"No freaking way," Coby said as he glared at Marcus, "the only thing you two could possibly do is make it worse,"

"No argument there," Leon said with a laugh as he turned a page in his book.

"I wish there was something we could do," Marcus said as he put a hand under his chin, looking like he was deep in thought.

Marcus closed his eyes as he thought about some sort of resolution for Coby's mechanical issues. Although he wanted to help himself, he had a strong feeling that any assistance he tried to offer would only get in the way. However, that didn't mean Marcus couldn't give Coby any suggestions. As he brainstormed, a lightbulb went off in his head and his eyes shot open with excitement.

"Wait a minute, I know!" Marcus said with glee as his tail started to wag, "When my dad was still in Star Fox, he said that his team had a frog as a mechanic named Slippy Toad,"

"Yeah," Coby replied, "I already know that, but what's your point?"

"Well, why don't you get his help?" Marcus said as if it was the best plan he had ever conceived, "If he did all the engineering for Star Fox, then he's bound to be a genius, right? If you got him to work with you Coby, I'm sure your turrets would be up and running in no time!"

"Marcus, he's already retired," Coby said with a sigh, "I'm not gonna ask for his help just so I can get my project finished. It would be extremely rude of me. Plus, it'd be pretty embarrassing if I couldn't finish my own project and had to ask for help from a professional,"

"But you said you need help," Marcus countered.

"Yeah, but what I meant was that I need a team to work with. I don't need a professional to give me advice and hold my hand along the way. I'll never get better with my mechanics if that happened,"

"Everybody needs help and advice Coby," Leon said without looking away from his book, "Sounds to me like you just have a hard time learning from others,"

"That's not true," Coby replied as he glared at the lupine from the corner of his eye, "My mentor taught me everything I know about mechanics,"

Marcus's ears perked up in curiosity and Leon looked over at Coby. The raccoon stopped halfway through his drink as he noticed the two brothers eyeing him.

"What?" Coby said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"You know Coby," Marcus began, feeling a little bit awkward, "Me and Leon have told you everything about us. We've even shared some of our deepest secrets,"

"Yeah?" Coby said with a confused voice.

"I told you about my telepathy, and Leon told you about his real father," Marcus implied, and Leon nodded in agreement, seeing where his brother was going.

"And I think both of those thing are awesome," Coby replied, sounding a little bit aggravated, "what are you trying to say Marcus?"

Marcus sighed, trying to think of a way to explain himself. He and Coby were friends since the beginning of their training, but that didn't make personal matters easy to discuss.

"Well, the thing is," Marcus said, looking at Leon and then back at Coby, "we don't really know… well, anything about you,"

"What are you talking about?" Coby said with a small laugh, "You guys know everything about me. I'm a mechanic, I'm precise with my firearms, I'm an arwing pilot, and my favorite clothing styles include dusters, orange jackets, and cowboy hats. What else is there to know?"

"Lots, actually," Leon said as he closed his book and laid it down on the armchair, "Coby, I think what Marcus is trying to say is that you haven't told us anything about your past,"

"There's nothing to know about my past Leon," Coby said with a dismissing voice as he sipped his coffee.

"Everybody has a backstory Coby," Leon said, and Marcus nodded in agreement.

"Well I don't. And if I did, it would be irrelevant."

"Who'd you grow up with?" Marcus asked.

That last question set the raccoon off without warning.

"Look, why are you guys being so inquisitive about my past all of a sudden!?" Coby yelled as he stood up from his chair and glared at the brothers.

Marcus and Leon both flinched at Coby's sudden anger.

"It's just a question Coby," Leon said as he made a calming hand gesture, "we want to know more about you, that's all."

Despite Leon's reassurance, Coby felt his personal space come under attack. He frowned and huffed at the lupine.

"You know what you need to know," Coby said sternly has he tilted his hat over his eyes, "Nothing else about me matters."

"It matters to us," Marcus said as he tried his best to not infuriate Coby any further, "We're asking because we care about you."

Coby thought for a few seconds and sighed impatiently.

"I grew up with my uncle. We both lived in an apartment, and he was the one who taught me about mechanics," Coby tilted up his hat and frowned at Marcus, "There, are you happy now?"

"Who was your uncle?" Leon asked.

"His name's Gabriel Jane," Coby answered, "But I've always called him Uncle Gabe."

Marcus sighed with relief and smiled.

"See? That wasn't so bad," Marcus said, "Now we know a lot more about you."

"Yeah you do," Coby said with a frustrated tone as he tilted his hat down and began walking out of the room, "I'm gonna go work on the prototype some more."

Coby left the room, and Leon and Marcus both starred at each other with concern.

"Do you have any idea what just happened?" Marcus asked with wide eyes.

"None at all," Leon replied as he rested his forehead on his hand, "I've never seen Coby get that upset before over a couple of questions."

"There's something going on," Marcus said with a sigh as he looked at the door Coby just exited.

Leon closed his eyes as he thought deeply on what to do. He made a soft grumbling noise in his throat.

"Maybe I should talk to him," Marcus said as he stood up from his chair.

"No, I'll do it," Leon said as he held up a hand to Marcus and got up from his chair, "He'll listen to me better since I'm older."

"Are you sure Leon?" Marcus said as he sat back down.

"I'm sure," Leon said as he began walking towards the exit.

"All right. Well, good luck." Marcus said with an encouraging smile.

Leon walked down several corridors until he made it to the living quarters. He could hear the sound of Coby working with his tools on the other side of the door. Leon took a deep breath and then knocked.

"Coby, it's me," Leon said with a calm voice, "Can I come in for a second?"

"The door's unlocked," Coby answered with a semi-sarcastic tone, "you don't have to knock."

Leon opened the door and saw Coby sitting on the floor. He had a wrench in his hand, and Leon recognized the device he was working on as a piece to the turret prototype. The raccoon's back was facing Leon.

"Is this a bad time?" Leon asked with a low, careful voice.

"Of course not," Coby said without looking back at Leon, "what do you want?"

Leon didn't answer at first. He didn't want to infuriate Coby up to the point where the raccoon wouldn't talk to him at all for a month. He had shunned him before when Leon broke one of Coby's pistols at the shooting range after he borrowed it.

"I just wanted to know if everything's okay with you," Leon asked, trying his hardest to sound neutral.

Coby stopped working on his prototype.

"You obviously feel uncomfortable talking to me and Marcus about your past. I just wanted to make sure that you knew we weren't trying to dig you for information."

Coby let out a small laugh and shook his head.

"I'm not mad at you guys," Coby said, "But not all of us are willing to reveal everything about ourselves, about who we are and what are past is."

"I know," Leon said as he closed his eyes, "If you don't want to tell us, then don't tell us. But just know that we're there for you Coby."

Coby didn't answer, and he exchanged his wrench with a screwdriver, continuing his work on the prototype.

"I still trust you guys," Coby said as he turned to look at Leon from the corner of his eyes, "You can go now Leon."

Leon nodded and closed the door. As he started walking back, he heard Marcus speak in his head.

 _"So, how did it go?"_ Marcus asked.

 _"Better than I thought it would,"_ Leon answered, _"He's still reluctant to talk about his past, but at least he's still talking. I wouldn't bring it up again."_

 _"Yeah, that sounds like a smart idea,"_

Leon growled.

 _"And don't read his mind either,"_ Leon said.

 _"I wasn't going to!"_


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Falco's Surprise

When Leon and Marcus reached the gym inside of the Great Fox, they took of their flight jackets and stood opposite of each other inside the gym's arena. It wasn't too small, but the one they always practiced in back at Ucara had a much greater surface area and height. The Great Fox gym had a low ceiling, so neither fighter could jump around much. In other words, the gym didn't offer room for fancy tricks and movements, but it did make a good place to have a basic one-on-one sparring contest. However, the boys were using the arena for a very different reason.

"Alright Marcus, you ready?" Leon asked as he popped his knuckles.

Marcus took a deep breath and shook out his arms.

"Just give me a second, I need to get myself mentally prepared,"

Marcus stretched his hands over his head, and then he crouched down into a running position.

"Ok, I'm ready!" Marcus said enthusiastically.

"Then lets-

"No wait!" Marcus said as he stood up and walked around with his hands behind his head, "I'm not ready."

Leon groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Come on, we'll never get it done at this rate," Leon said impatiently.

"You promise to hit the target?" Marcus asked as he stopped pacing around and looked at Leon dead in the eye.

"I promise I won't miss," Leon said, "Now are we gonna do this or not?"

Marcus took another deep breath and nodded as he got back into his running position.

"Alright, let's do it," Marcus said half-heartedly.

"Perfect," Leon said with a menacing smile as he crouched down with his hand extended as if he was ready to grab something, "On my mark, okay?"

Marcus nodded and dug his feet into the arena. He took long, deep breaths through his nose. His eyes pierced the punching bag positioned right in the middle of the gym outside of the arena, like a target begging to be shot. He waited for his brother to give the signal.

"Mark!" Leon yelled.

Marcus began running at full speed to the open space right next to his brother. When he began closing in, he kicked himself off the ground and grabbed his brothers extended hand. Leon used the momentum Marcus had already built up to quickly spin the vulpine around three times, and on the third spin, he launched the vulpine like a missile, aiming for the punching bag. Marcus extended one of his legs out in order to decimate the target with a powerful kick. Unfortunately, Leon possessed little precision, and the vulpine went flying by the punching bag and right into the weight rack instead.

Marcus plowed into the weight rack with a very large crash. Leon gritted his teeth and tightly closed his eyes in order not to witness his own failure. He slowly opened one of his eyes as Marcus sat up from the pile of weights with a large grunt. The vulpine growled at him with murderous intent and Leon just smiled awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head.

"Uh, you alright Marcus?" Leon asked with a nervous laugh.

"Oh yeah, I'm great," Marcus grunted as he slowly stood up with his eyes tightly shut, "It's not like I didn't just crash into a rack of weights at a dangerous speed,"

"Sorry about that," Leon said with shame as he hopped out of the arena and walked over to his brother, who was leaning on his knees and gasping for air, "guess my aim was a little off,"

"Yeah," Marcus said with a tired voice as he looked up from the ground and glared at his brother, "just a little bit,"

"You didn't break anything did you?" Leon asked with concern.

"No, I'm fine," Marcus said as he gritted his teeth and stretched his back, "not even a sprain actually."

"It's a good thing your body's so tough," Leon said, trying to lighten the mood, "Most people would've broken both of their legs after an impact like that."

"Probably helped that I tucked them in at the last second," Marcus said as he stretched both of his legs.

Leon smiled and clapped both of his hands together.

"Well, guess we should just do it again!"

"Hold on a second," Marcus said as he stopped stretching his legs and crossed both of his arms, "this time, I want to be the launcher, and you can be the projectile,"

"What? No way," Leon said as he crossed his own arms, "the move's called the Vulpine Torpedo, not the Lupine Torpedo."

"I don't want to be the torpedo!" Marcus yelled, "Only fair we both do it."

"I'm way too heavy to be the torpedo," Leon said as he shook his head, "Plus, I'm stronger, so I need to be the thrower. It's the only way the move can work."

"Maybe we just shouldn't do the move Leon!" Marcus yelled again, "You know, I've been wondering how throwing me like a projectile is in any way effective! And quite frankly Leon, it's pretty humiliating!"

"Oh come on dude, this whole thing was your idea!"

"Yeah, but that was before I knew you had a terrible aim!" Marcus yelled back, "We haven't even managed to pull it off once!"

"Ok, ok, you're right," Leon said as he flew his arms up in the air, "It's my fault we keep messing up, but it's harder to make the shot then you think."

"We should just give it up," Marcus said with a tired sigh.

"Hey, this was your plan, and you seemed really excited about doing it," Leon said with encouragement, "Look, it's hard to do but if we can pull it off, it's a devastating attack. With the amount of force created by your speed and my strength, our move will easily topple tough opponents in one hit,"

"If we can even hit them," Marcus said, sounding discouraged, "And what about fast moving targets? They'll just dodge the attack, right?"

"Yes, but it's meant to take down tough opponents, not fast ones," Leon said, "heavily-armored, slow stationary enemies won't be able to dodge it."

Marcus nodded, but he still didn't look very upbeat about doing the move again. Energy usually pulsed through his body when he did things like this with his brother, but failure after failure would take a toll on anybody's enthusiasm. Leon walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon vulpine," he said with a smile, "where's your sense of audacity gone to?"

Marcus's ears perked up, and he looked at his brother for a few seconds before smiling and nodding. Both he and Leon walked back to the arena and got back into their positions, ready to perform the move again.

"I need to get a better look at my target this time," Leon said, "I've been throwing you as soon as I see the bag, so I don't have enough time to get a good view. This time, I'll turn my head more so I can see the bag before I throw you."

Marcus nodded and dug his feet into the ground again. Leon gave the signal, and just like before, Marcus began sprinting full speed at the space right next to his brother. Marcus jumped slightly off the ground again and his brother caught his hand. Leon spun Marcus around twice, but on his third spin, he turned his head just enough to get a good look at the target. Time seemed to slow down, and with a large roar, Leon heaved Marcus right at the bag.

Marcus went flying like a missile, and he extended his leg out to form another kick. This time, Leon's accuracy improved significantly, and Marcus's leg hit the punching bag dead in the center. The bag exploded as it severed into two pieces, and Marcus went flying through it, completely covered in sand. His momentum slowed down a bit, and the vulpine went sliding across the gym floor until he came to a full stop.

With large, panting breaths, Marcus opened his eyes and looked around, witnessing the carnage caused by him and his brother's success. Marcus smiled and began laughing as he flew his arms up into the air.

"Yes!" Marcus cheered, "We did it! We finally did it!"

Marcus continued to laugh with joy, and Leon starred at the remains of the punching bag with a wide-eyed gape. Although he knew the attack would be effective, he didn't expect it to cause as much damage as it did. Knocking a punching back off of a ceiling requires immense strength, but they cut theirs in half.

Before he knew it, Leon felt two arms tightly wrap around him. He looked down, and saw the sand-covered face of his brother smiling brightly up at him from a few inches away. He showed all of his teeth and tightly closed his eyes, just like he used to always do when they were kids.

"You improved your aim!" Marcus said as he opened his eyes, still smiling, "Why are you just standing there, dumbfounded? We did it Leon!"

Leon starred at Marcus with awe for a couple of more seconds until he smiled and laughed as he hugged his brother back. Leon let Marcus go and started to brush the sand off of his face and clothes.

"You got sand everywhere," Leon said, still smiling, "you're gonna need a shower after we clean this all up."

"You sound just like Mom when you say that," Marcus said with a smile as he started to brush off the sand on his pants.

Leon let his brother brush himself off while he walked over to the pile of sand. When Marcus finished, he stood right next to Leon with a prideful smile and put his hands on his hips.

"Guess you were right," Marcus said, "that sure is a powerful attack,"

"Actually, it's stronger than I thought it'd be," Leon said as he put a hand under his chin, "If this had been an unarmored person, they would have been killed for sure,"

Marcus stopped smiling as he looked back at his brother. Leon's tone didn't sound upbeat and relieved like his brother expected.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. Don't we want the attack to be as strong as possible?"

"Of course, but we should only use it when we need to," Leon said as he turned back to Marcus, "we should practice this a few more times until my aim is pitch perfect. Also, I don't want to use this move with fatal intentions. We don't have to kill all of the bad guys after all, so we should only use it against enemies who are tough enough to take it."

"Yeah, I guess using it on a typical grunt would be kind of cruel," Marcus said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Cruel and a waste. The move takes up a lot of time, so using it for standard soldiers is meaningless.

Marcus nodded in agreement, and then he clapped his hands together with a smile.

"Let's find another punching bag so we can do it again!" Marcus said with excitement as he began walking over to the closet where all of the bags were stored.

"Hold on, let's get this cleaned up first," Leon said as he put his hands on his hips and looked at all of the sand.

"Aw, but can't we just get R.O.B to do it?" Marcus whined.

"It'd take too long," Leon said as he shook his head, "Falco's coming back today, and if he saw this mess, he'd kill us both,"

"Oh yeah," Marcus said as he put a hand under his chin, "He'd get pretty pissed if he saw all of this carnage, wouldn't he?"

"I'll ask R.O.B if he has any extra vacuum cleaners we can use to clean all of the sand up," Leon said as he began walking towards the exit, "Stay here and put the weights and the weight rack back up,"

"No problem," Marcus said as he walked over to the pile of weights and stood the fallen rack back up.

Marcus spent fifteen minutes placing all of the weights back in order on the weight rack. As soon as he finished, Leon walked into the room with R.O.B and two extra vacuum cleaners. Leon handed one of the vacuums to Marcus, and R.O.B's robotic arm turned into a suction tube. Without further delay, the robot and the two rookies began cleaning up all of the sand.

"Sorry about the mess R.O.B," Marcus said as he glanced over to the robot, "we didn't know the attack we used would destroy the punching bag."

"There's no reason to apologize Private Marcus," R.O.B said without looking back at the vulpine, "Although I must ask what attack you two could have used to cause such a mess."

"We call it the Vulpine Torpedo," Leon said with pride while he focused on his cleaning, "The way the move works is that Marcus gets a running start to build up momentum. Then I grab his hand while he's running, spin him around three times, and hurl him towards the enemy."

"So, it turns you into a living projectile sir?" R.O.B asked while he looked over to Marcus, who blushed with slight embarrassment.

"Uh, yeah something like that," Marcus mumbled without looking at R.O.B.

"That sounds like a very unorthodox form of attack," R.O.B commented as he looked back at his cleaning, "but then again, if it caused this much damage, I suppose it does have some form of combat effectiveness to it."

"The downside is that it takes time to build up," Leon said, "Also, the attack relies on my aim, and if I miss and throw him at something dangerous, Marcus will have to find a way to keep himself from getting hurt, but he's done pretty good at that so far."

"Something dangerous?" R.O.B asked.

"Yeah, like a weight rack," Marcus growled without looking at Leon.

"I see," R.O.B said, "well, I'm sure you two will find a way to make some use out of that technique, but I would show it to Captain Falco first. I'm sure he'll give you good advice."

"He'll probably say we're both idiots for thinking the move was a good idea," Marcus sighed.

"Nah, Falco's pretty open when it comes to our fighting technique," Leon commented, "He might think we're crazy, but he won't ban us from using it."

"Hope your right," Marcus said as he finished his section of cleaning and turned off his vacuum cleaner, "Well, looks like I finished my part."

"Go take another shower then," Leon demanded.

"Do I have to?" Marcus groaned, "I already took one earlier this morning,"

"That was before you got covered in sand," Leon said sternly, "Now go take a shower already. Falco's gonna think you haven't showered all week if he sees you like that."

Marcus grumbled and rolled his eyes.

"Ok Mom," Marcus said with a mocking tone as he walked out of the gym and headed off to his room.

"He's rather immature for a soldier, isn't he?" R.O.B said as he watched the vulpine leave the room.

"You have no idea," Leon said with a smile as he continued cleaning, "Then again, I can't really talk myself. I'm pretty immature at times as well. Besides, Marcus gets serious when he needs to be serious. That's something I've always loved about him so much."

"True, but you seem to be the most mature of the three rookies Leon," R.O.B said as he continued cleaning, "I'm sure Falco will promote you first."

"I'm just the oldest R.O.B. It's not really a special-

Leon stopped cleaning, and he looked up at R.O.B with curiosity.

"Promotion?" Leon asked.

"Of course. You've already had your first mission, so it's only a matter of time before Falco promotes his first sergeant,"

Leon looked back at his vacuum cleaner and continued cleaning, thinking deeply about R.O.B's words. Leon never thought about things like rank and promotion, so the concept seemed very alien to him. He always saw everyone on the team as his comrades, not as privates or sergeants or lieutenants (besides Falco of course, but that's only because he's the leader).

"And you think that'll be me?" Leon asked.

"Without a doubt sir. After all, you possess all the traits of a leader. Falco will definitely make you his successor."

Leon stopped cleaning again, and he felt his heart rate rise as he looked back up at R.O.B.

"Ok, hold on a second," Leon said with a nervous laugh, "Your making it sound as if Falco's leaving and I'm gonna take his place. Falco's not going anywhere, right?"

"Of course not sir," R.O.B said, and Leon let out a large sigh of relief, causing R.O.B to look back up at him, "Did I make you nervous?"

"Yeah R.O.B, you kind of did," Leon said as he shook his head and went back to cleaning.

"My apologies. That was not my intention. I was simply thinking about the future,"

"I know," Leon said, and then he thought for a few seconds and asked, "R.O.B, do you really think I should be promoted first?"

"Do you not think so, sir?"

"I don't know," Leon said with a sigh, "I just don't think I'm the best choice,"

"Well, there's no reason to think about it now. My advice would be to cross that bridge when it comes. Falco is your captain, not me. However, in my opinion, I think you would be the best choice."

"I guess I should say thanks," Leon said with a smile as he finished cleaning his section and turned off his vacuum cleaner, "You think you can handle the rest?"

"Yes sir, I'll be done in a moment,"

Leon nodded, and then walked over to the torn remains of the punching bag. He picked up the pieces of fabric, careful not to let any of the remaining sand fall out, and threw them away in the garbage can. When he checked the time, h saw that it was already 8:50. Falco would be arriving in about ten minutes.

"Falco will be here soon," Leon said as he began to walk quickly towards the exit.

"I'll send a message to your watch when he arrives,"

"Thanks R.O.B," Leon said with a smile, and then he walked out of the gym.

Leon walked down the living corridor and knocked on Coby's door.

"Come in!" Coby said.

Leon opened the door and saw the raccoon sitting down on the carpet, still working on the turret.

"Falco will arrive any minute. Get ready, and meet me outside of the Great Fox,"

"Alright, I'll be there," Coby said as he placed the turret piece down and grabbed a cloth to wipe off his oily hands.

Leon closed Coby's door and walked over to Marcus's room. He heard the shower running, so he had to knock harder than usual. Leon heard the shower turn off and his brother call out.

"Who is it!?"

"It's me, hurry up and finish showering. You have five minutes before Falco gets here. Meet me and Coby outside the Great Fox,"

"Ok," Marcus said before he turned on the shower again.

Leon walked into his room, put on a red jacket over his black flight suit and quickly ran over to the Great Fox hanger. When he arrived, he pressed a red button right next to the hanger opening where the Arwings could exit. A metal trey slid right underneath the bottom of the opening and made an exit ramp. Leon almost ran down the ramp, but he stopped and squinted his eyes from the Cornerian sunlight. It had only been two weeks, but his eyes had already forgotten what natural light felt like. Leon blinked a few times before his eyes adapted to the light again. He ran down the ramp and stood at attention with his arms behind his back.

A couple of minutes later, Coby arrived and stood right next to Leon in attention. The raccoon was wearing a brown duster, and he tipped his hat at Leon when he stood next to him. Leon nodded back, and the two pilots looked forward and waited for their captain.

"Where's Marcus?" Leon asked.

"I knocked on his door before I left. He told me he was getting dressed,"

"At least he finished showering," Leon said as he looked down at his watch, "It's already nine o'clock,"

"Think the captain's running late?"

"Probably. I wonder what he's been doing for the past two weeks,"

"Well, we'll find out when he gets here,"

"Hey guys!" a voice yelled, causing both Coby and Leon to turn around.

Marcus quickly ran down the ramp and stood next to Leon. He was wearing his green flight suit with his father's old, white jacket. Marcus leaned forward to get a better look at Coby, who was standing on Leon's other side.

"Coby, where's your jacket?" Marcus asked.

"Got dirty while I was working on the turret. I don't think the captain will mind if I wear my duster instead. It's not like we're at a ceremony."

Leon's watch buzzed, and he looked down at it and saw that R.O.B was calling. He went ahead and answered it.

"Captain Falco has arrived sir," R.O.B said.

"Got it, thanks R.O.B," Leon said before hanging up.

"Is he here?" Coby asked curiously.

"Yeah, he's here alright,"

"Where is he?" Marcus asked as he looked around the rest of the docking bay, "I can't see his-

"Right there," Leon interrupted as he pointed up.

Marcus looked up and shielded his eyes with his hand from the sunlight. He suddenly saw a Cornerian public transport descending at a slow speed. The ship landed about fifty feet away from the pilots.

"Are you sure that's Falco?" Coby asked as he placed a hand underneath his chin, "I don't think a public transport can land in a military spaceport."

"The ship would be breaking protocol if it landed here without permission," Leon said, "Someone would have had to call ahead of time. Falco's definitely in there,"

"He's right, I can sense his presence in the ship," Marcus said with a smile, but then it went away and was replaced by a confused expression as he scratched the back of his head, "And… I can sense three other people as well for some reason,"

Both Coby and Leon turned and looked at Marcus with surprise.

"You mean he's not alone?" Leon asked.

"No," Marcus said, and then he smiled brightly, "I guess that means he brought company!"

"But, who else would he-

"The door's opening," Leon interrupted Coby, "everybody be quite and stand at attention."

The other pilots nodded and stood straight with their hands behind their backs. The door to the transport opened, and a blue-feathered figure walked out. A pink-furred figure walked out as well and stood right next to him. The pilot's squinted their eyes to make out the figures, and as they got closer, their images became clearer. The blue-feathered figure was indeed Falco, but he seemed to be carrying something on his shoulders. The rookie's eyes widened as they realized that it was not a thing, but a small child. A blue-furred, male kitten was smiling and waving at the three rookies. The other figure turned out to be a pink-furred cat woman, and she was carrying a pink-furred baby kitten bundled up in her arms.

"What do you three idiots think you're doing?" Falco yelled with a smile as he waved at the rookies, "This isn't a ceremony, come on over here!"

The rookies quite standing at attention and quickly ran over to their captain and his guests. When they walked over, none of them said a word, and they simply starred at the cat woman and the children with open mouths and wide eyes. Falco let out a large laugh, and the cat woman smiled and chuckled.

"What, are you guys surprised?" Falco said.

An instinct went off in each of the boys. They had known their captain for a long time, and right now, they knew exactly who these people were as well.

"Falco…" Marcus said, "Is this… is this you're…"

"Yes Marcus," Falco said as he looked up at the child on his shoulders, who smiled down at him, "this is my family,"

There was an awkward silence between both groups. Falco let out a small, nervous laugh and then he looked at the woman next to him.

"I'd like to introduce you all to my wife, Katt," Falco said, and the woman walked forward and offered her hand with a soft smile.

"I've been waiting to meet all of you," Katt said as she shook each of the rookie's hands, "And I already know all of your names. Marcus, your father did a lot to help me out back in the day. I owe him a great amount of thanks."

"Oh!" Marcus said suddenly as he finished shaking Katt's hand, "Well, uh, yeah! That's cool I guess."

"This is my son, Jaden," Falco said as he looked up at the blue-furred kitten.

"Hi!" Jaden said with a high-pitched voice and a smile as he waved at the rookies.

"And that's my daughter, Melody," Falco said as he looked at the bundle in Katt's arms.

The rookies were still trying to fully understand the situation. Falco always seemed like the tough loner who never got his hands full with personal stuff, but this new family seemed to blow that hypothesis out of the water.

"Falco," Leon said as he rubbed his forehead, "You never told us you had a family!"

Falco smiled and blushed a little, and his wife walked over to him and held his hand.

"He wanted it to be a surprise for you," Katt said with a soft voice as she smiled at her husband, and then she looked back at Marcus and Leon and added, "We asked Krystal and Fox not to tell either of you."

"Wow, well you got us," Marcus said with a small laugh, "I had absolutely no idea!"

"And how old are your kids?" Coby asked, completely dumbfounded by the whole situation.

"Jaden's six and melody's five months old," Katt said.

"Whoa! Falco, your kids are that young?" Coby asked, sounding even more surprised.

"Coby, they don't look old," Leon said, "Why are you surprised by that?"

"No it's not that, it's just…"

Coby looked away nervously and blushed a little.

"Aren't you… kind of old by now?" Coby asked, sounding embarrassed by the question.

"I'm only forty-eight," Falco said with a small chuckle, "Not that old."

"What about you Katt?" Leon asked.

"Forty-two," Katt answered with a smile.

Marcus was impressed. Despite being over forty, Falco and his wife still looked surprisingly young for their ages, although the lighter color of Falco's feathers did give away his middle age.

"Well, we shouldn't stand here all day!" Falco said as both he and Katt turned around and began walking back to the transport, "come on you three!"

"Wait, what?" Marcus said, "But sir, what about our mission?"

"Don't worry about it Marcus," Falco said as he turned around with a smile, "You three have been cooped up on that ship for two whole weeks now. Don't you want a break?"

"You serious?" Coby said with an excited smile, and the other two smiled as well.

"Of course!" Falco said as he and Katt turned around again and started walking, "You can't work all the time, can you?"

The three rookies looked at each other with excitement, and they all nodded to each other and caught up with the family. Despite being caught off guard by Falco's unexpected surprise, the boys were more relieved than perplexed now.

"Where are we going?" Marcus asked as he walked next to Falco with his tail wagging.

"Several places," Falco said as he smiled at Marcus, "There's a lot of stuff to see in Cornaria. We'll stay in a hotel tonight."

"Oh thank goodness!" Marcus said, "I don't have to sleep next to Coby tonight!"

"Wait, what did I do?" Coby asked, feeling a little offended.

"That's not all," Falco said before Marcus could answer Coby, "I have a friend who wants to see you guys."

"A friend?" Marcus asked, getting more excited, "Who is it?"

Falco chuckled and looked away.

"Wait and see," he said.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Another Happy Family

Marcus, Leon, and Coby sat right across from Falco and his family aboard the public transport. The ship flew high above one of Corneria's oceans, heading for the city. The ship had been flying for about an hour now, but there hadn't been much talking at all until Leon finally decided to ask a question.

"So, uh, do you have a job Mrs. Lombardi?"

"I used to work as a teacher in the Military Academy," Katt answered as she looked down and smiled at the bundle in her arms, "but that was before we had the little ones. Now I'm a full time stay-at-home mother."

"And a good one to," Falco said softly as he grabbed his wife's hand with a smile.

"The Academy?" Leon said with surprise, "Were you ever in the military?"

"Not exactly," Katt answered as she looked back up at Leon, "I was a bounty hunter before I became a teacher. When I retired, Fox was kind enough to get me a job as a teacher with the military. They were suspicious at first of course, but Fox convinced them otherwise and said my abilities as a pilot could be useful to them."

"So, you were a bounty hunter before you retired." Leon said.

"Yes, but I mostly worked with Star Fox later on in my career, so I technically did join their team. However, I never signed up as an official member."

"I thought about becoming a bounty hunter," Coby said as he tilted his hat down over his eyes and rested his head behind both of his hands, "but after I met Marcus and Leon, I decided to join them instead."

"You made the right decision," Katt said as she looked at the raccoon, "Being a bounty hunter is a very risky job. The work is dangerous, and you're alone on a lot of your missions."

"Working alone does sound really boring," Coby said as he tilted his hat up and struck a smug smile at Katt, "but danger wouldn't' keep me from doing any job."

"You seem to be very confident in yourself," Katt noted with a smile, "I would expect nothing less from a member of Star Fox."

Coby chuckled and closed his eyes as he tilted his hat down again.

"Anyway," Marcus suddenly said as he cleared his throat, "How long have you guys been married now?"

"Sixteen years in about two months," Falco answered with a smile.

"Although we had been dating for quite a while before that, hadn't we dear?" Katt said with a teasing voice.

Falco chuckled a little and nodded as he scratched the back of his head.

"And you said your oldest son was six?" Leon asked as he looked at Jaden, who was sound asleep in his seat right next to Falco.

Falco nodded, and Leon sighed as he thought about his next question.

"Is it okay if I ask you guys something…personal?" Leon asked.

"Of course," Katt said with a smile.

"Why did you guys suddenly decide to have kids?" Leon asked, feeling a little embarrassed by the question, "I mean, you had already been married for ten years, and you two knew each other before that, so…why now, this late in your marriage?"

Katt looked over at Falco, and Falco looked away, blushing with embarrassment. Katt giggled and laid a hand on her husband's leg.

"Aren't you gonna tell him honey?" Katt asked.

Falco thought for a couple of seconds, and then he looked back at Katt with a nervous smile.

"Maybe another time. I'd be kind of…awkward if I said it now,"

"Wait, there's a real reason?" Marcus asked, feeling even more curious.

"You'll understand later," Falco answered, and his wife nodded.

Marcus looked at Leon, who just shrugged and shook his head.

"How much longer until we get to our destination?" Coby asked.

"Well, we've been flying for an hour, so my guess is thirty minutes, maybe a little bit less than that." Falco said.

Marcus sighed and rested his cheek on both of his hands. He didn't like traveling for long periods of time. As a younger kid, he and his family came up with a lot of fun ways to do entertaining stuff on their vacation trips, but Marcus guessed that kind of thing ended when you got older. He tried thinking of something else to talk about in order to kill the time, and he finally thought of something brilliant.

"Oh! Leon, we never told Falco about our new technique!" Marcus said as he looked up at his brother with excitement.

"Are you sure we should tell him now?" Leon asked as with a doubtful look on his face, "I think a visual presentation would be better."

"What technique?" Falco asked as he leaned forward in his seat, "I didn't know about this."

"We've been working on it for the past two weeks while you were gone," Leon said as he looked back at Falco with a smile.

"Two weeks isn't a lot of time to develop a new move," Falco noted, "how does it work?"

Leon explained the Vulpine Torpedo move. He also went into discreet detail about how the move would be very useful against heavily armored and tough opponents. Leon spoke with enthusiasm and pride, but Marcus seemed a little bit embarrassed by his brother. He had a strong feeling that Falco would immediately start ridiculing them after Leon finished, but instead the avian simply smiled and closed his eyes as he looked down.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you two have been working together more," Falco said, almost sounding relieved.

Leon and Marcus both looked at Falco with blank expressions. They both had their own opinion on how he would react, but neither of them were expecting that response.

"But, what do you think about that attack?" Leon asked.

"Yeah, don't you want to criticize it? Or rank it? Or…something?" Marcus asked.

"I can't criticize a move I haven't seen," Falco responded as he opened his eyes and looked back up at his pilots with a smile, "But as long as you two are working as a team, that's all I really want to hear."

Marcus and Leon looked at each other with curiosity. Neither one of them knew what the heck was going on. They were both looking at each other to see of the other one had the answer. Marcus bent his head down and rested his fingers on his forehead. He disguised himself to make it look like he was just resting his head while he telepathically communicated with his brother.

 _"Falco's acting really strange right now,"_ Marcus said.

 _"I know,"_ Leon answered while he looked away from Marcus in order to not look suspicious, _"He's usually not this laid back with us. What the heck is going on?"_

 _"I have no idea,"_ Marcus said, and he opened one of his eyes to peep up at Katt, who was now engaging in a conversation with Coby.

 _"Maybe you should try reading his mind,"_ Leon said.

 _"No, I don't want to do that,"_ Marcus said, _"His emotions aren't anxious or nervous, so I don't think he's hiding anything._ "

"Marcus!" Coby suddenly yelled, forcing Marcus to snap out of his telepathic line and look at Coby with a startled expression.

"Uh, yeah what's up Coby?" Marcus asked, trying to sound natural, but the raccoon looked incredibly suspicious.

"Jeez dude, what was that all about?" Coby asked, "I called your name three times and you didn't answer."

"Oh, uh sorry about that Coby, I just…"

Marcus scratched the back of his head as he tried to come up with an excuse for Coby. Unfortunately, lying was still something he had a serious problem doing.

"Are you feeling alright?" Coby asked, "You seem a bit-

"He's just tired Coby," Leon quickly said as he looked away from Marcus and at the raccoon, "He told me he didn't get much sleep last night."

"Yeah, I'm just tired," Marcus said as he nodded.

"Oh, well anyway," Coby continued, "Katt was just wondering about your thoughts on the last mission."

"The media has been praising you guys for it," Katt said, "I wanted to know how you personally felt about that. Fox never liked it when the media constantly exalted his team."

Marcus looked disinterested as he shrugged and laid his hands behind his head.

"I don't know what the big deal is," Marcus said, "It's not like we saved the world. Honestly, besides the captain we had to fight, the mission was pretty easy."

"Yeah, why are they renouncing us like we're heroes?" Leon suddenly asked, sounding a bit aggravated, "we're those pirates really that big of a threat?"

"Of course not," Falco responded, "It's because the unit you're in has a history of being used for propaganda. Don't worry about it. It'll die down sooner or later."

The group talked on for the rest of the trip about the history of Star Fox and all of the significant missions that made the unit popular. When they finally arrived at their destination, Falco woke up Jaden, and Melody unfortunately woke up on her own, crying.

"Here, give her to me," Falco said as he walked over to his wife, "You carried her for the entire trip."

Katt handed Melody over to Falco while everybody else began walking out of the transport. Leon almost exited until he felt something pulling at his pants. He looked down and saw Jaden looking up at him with a smile.

"Can I have a piggy-back ride?" the child asked while he held up both of his hands to Leon.

Leon looked at the kid with uncertainty, and then he looked up at Katt. She smiled and nodded in approval. Leon smiled back and crouched down onto his knees.

"Hop on kid,"

Jaden wrapped his arms around Leon's shoulders, and Leon grabbed onto his legs while he stood up. The kid's weight felt like nothing, and Leon carried him with ease.

"Wow, you're even taller than my Dad!" Jaden said as he looked around.

Leon smiled and let out a small laugh at the kid's compliment.

"Hold on tight," Leon said as he started walking off the ship, "I don't want to accidently drop you and then have to face your mother's wrath."

Leon walked off of the ship with Jaden and joined Coby and Marcus on the outside. Falco and Katt soon followed with Melody, who had stopped crying and was now sucking on a pacifier. Both parents were carrying the luggage they had brought with them, and the ship took off as soon as everyone had gotten out.

Marcus looked around the public station they had been dropped off at. He looked up and noticed several large buildings towering into the sky. The structures looked strangely familiar.

"Haven't we been here before?" Marcus asked.

"This is the same city where the Cornerian Flight Academy is located," Falco said, "you guys graduated here about a month ago."

"Are we going to the academy?" Leon asked.

"Not yet," Falco answered, "but we will sooner or later. We'll head to the hotel for now."

"Where is the hotel?" Coby asked as he tilted up his hat and looked around.

"Follow us," Falco said as he and Katt picked up their luggage and started walking down the sidewalk.

"Wait a minute Falco," Marcus said as he walked up to his captain and grabbed the suitcase out of his hand, "you shouldn't be carrying anything if you have a baby in your hands."

"Here, let me help to." Coby said as he walked up to Katt and grabbed one of her suitcases.

"My, what gentlemen!" Katt said with a smile.

"Thanks guys," Falco said with a smile has he put an extra arm under Melody.

"Hey Leon, why don't you carry Katt's other suitcase?" Coby said as he looked at the lupine.

"I would, but as you can see, my arms are already full," Leon said as he looked back at Jaden, who was looking around with an excited smile.

"If he gets too heavy you can set him down Leon," Katt said.

"No, he's okay Mom!" Jaden quickly said, afraid that Leon would set him down. He quickly looked at Leon and whispered, "You can still carry me, right?"

Leon looked at the kid from the corner of his eye and smiled. He was a lot like Marcus when they were both kids.

"Yeah, I can carry you," Leon whispered back with a smile, turning the whole matter into a game, "But that's a secret between us, okay?"

Jaden smiled back and nodded.

"Got it!" he whispered excitedly.

Leon looked away from Jaden, and he noticed Katt smiling at him. It was a very peculiar smile, as if she knew something that Leon didn't. Leon smiled back nervously, and Katt just chuckled and looked away from him.

"Here it is," Falco said as he and Katt both stopped and looked up at one of the buildings next to the sidewalk.

The three rookies stopped walking and looked up at the hotel along with Jaden. The building was six stories high, twenty rooms across. Each pilot could tell that it wasn't low-quality either. Their captain spent a lot of money on them.

"My family and I will sleep in one of the suites," Falco said as he and Katt began walking inside, and the rookies followed, "I got each of you your own room, so you won't have to share tonight."

The group walked into the hotel and Falco picked up his registration at the front desk.

"You guys will be on the third floor," Falco said, "The suites are on the top floor, so my family will be staying up there. When you're done packing all of your clothes away, meet in the lobby downstairs."

"Where will we be going next?" Marcus asked.

"We'll talk about that once we've settled in," Falco said, "By the way, the brown suitcase is for you guys. It has your clothes in it."

"You know, we could've packed our own clothes," Leon said, a bit confused by Falco's decision.

"Yeah, but I wanted to get you guys some new clothes anyway," Falco said with a smile, "You always seem to be wearing your uniforms everywhere, so I decided to change that."

"Thanks a lot Falco," Marcus said, but he didn't smile, and instead felt a sense of guilt rise in his stomach as his ears dropped, "Although, this seems like a little much. You didn't have to-

"I did it because I wanted to Marcus," Falco responded without breaking his smile, and then the elevator stopped and the door opened.

Before the rookies walked out, Coby and Marcus exchanged their black suitcases with Katt's brown suitcase.

"We'll sort our clothes out it in my room," Marcus said as he grabbed the brown suitcase.

Leon and Coby both nodded in agreement and the rookies began to walk out of the elevator.

"Leon, aren't you forgetting something?" Falco asked before Leon had a chance to walk out. The lupine had to hold the door open as he turned around.

Leon looked at Falco blankly for a few seconds, trying to figure out what it was he still had. Falco smiled and chuckled before pointing his wing at the head on Leon's shoulder.

"You're still carrying my son," Falco said.

"Oh, thats right," Leon said with a laugh.

Leon was about to let Jaden down, but the kitten tightened his grip.

"Can I stay with him!?" Jaden said with a pleading voice as he dug his claws into Leon's chest.

"Jaden, don't unsheathe your claws while you're riding on his back!" Katt said with a shocked face.

"What?" Leon said as he looked down at Jaden's claws, "Oh wow, I didn't even notice that."

"Sheathe your claws right now so Leon can put you down Jaden!" Katt scolded as she put her suitcases down and rested her hands on her hips, "You're being very-

"Hold on a minute honey," Falco interrupted, putting a wing up to Katt, "Leon, does that not hurt you?"

"Lupines have naturally thick skin and fur," Leon said with a prideful smile, "It takes a lot more than a kittens claws to hurt me."

"See, I can stay with him!" Jaden said with an excited voice.

"No, you can't," Katt said sternly as she crossed her arms, "You need to come unpack your clothes and toiletries first."

"Aw man," Jaden said with a disappointed look.

"Hey, it's alright bro," Leon said as he smiled encouragingly at him, "It'll only take us a few minutes to unpack. After that, I'll carry you for the rest of the day, alright?"

Jaden's mood quickly changed as a large smile beamed across his face. The child nodded, and Leon crouched down on the floor so he could hop off. When Jaden entered the elevator, Katt still crossed her arms and glared at him. Leon finally let go of the door so it could close, and then he headed off to Marcus's hotel room. When he arrived, Marcus and Coby were already organizing the clothes into their own piles.

"Three t-shirts, two pairs of shorts, two pairs of jeans, some socks, and some boxers," Coby said as he went through his pile, "Good grief Falco. It's not my birthday."

"He got me the same thing," Marcus said, and when he saw Leon, he nodded his head towards the third pile that he had already made.

"That one's your Leon," Marcus said, "Same amount as me and Coby."

Leon crouched down on the floor as he began going through his clothes.

"Well, I'm gonna head to my room," Coby said as he picked up his clothes along with some toiletries Falco had got him, "See you guys in the lobby."

Coby exited the room, and Marcus and Leon were left alone. Marcus looked at his brother going through his clothes. He let out a small laugh as he went back to sorting out his own pile.

"This is quite a change in routine, isn't it?" Marcus said, "Feels like just yesterday we were fighting Captain Maine and his pirate crew, and now it's almost like we're on a family vacation."

"I know," Leon said with a small smile.

Marcus stopped going through his pile, and he looked up at Leon.

"It feels like we're home again," Marcus said with a smile.

Leon nodded in agreement and continued to go through his clothes. When he finished, he picked up his pile along with his toiletries and began walking out.

"Thanks by the way," Marcus said before Leon could leave.

Leon turned around and looked at Marcus with confusion. Marcus blushed a little and smiled. The vulpine looked away as he scratched the back of his head.

"You covered for me in the transport when Coby asked me what was wrong," Marcus said, "Thanks for having my back."

Leon smiled again and nodded.

"Don't mention it," Leon said before opening the door and walking out.

About five minutes later, the whole group met downstairs in the hotel lobby. Katt had brought along her baby stroller for Melody, and the rookies had changed into some more appropriate wear for a family trip (except for Coby, who still wore his hat and duster). Jaden hopped onto Leon's back again, and Falco began explaining the plans for the day to the rookies.

"It's almost eleven o'clock," Falco said as he looked down at his watch, "In a couple of hours, we'll head to one of the restaurants to get some lunch. Before we do that though, I wanted to introduce you guys to my friend over at the Cornerian Flight Academy."

"We're going to the Academy?" Coby asked, sounding a bit surprised, "Uh, are we walking there?"

"The Academy's pretty close by," Falco answered with a smile, "It'll only take us about ten minutes to get there."

"And you're _still_ not going to tell us who it is?" Marcus asked, sounding a bit impatient.

"Just ten more minutes Marcus," Falco said as he and Katt began walking, and the rest of the group followed, "Don't you like surprises?"

"No, not really," Marcus mumbled as walked right behind Leon.

As the group walked towards their destination, Falco kept pointing out certain landmarks and buildings that he and the old Star Fox team had visited so frequently in the past. Marcus and Coby seemed rather intrigued, but Leon seemed uninterested. He walked in silence until Jaden suddenly asked him a question.

"So, you're a pilot right?"

Leon turned his head a little to look at the child and he nodded.

"That's right," Leon answered, "Me and your father work together in Star Fox."

"Is that how my Daddy knows you?"

"I knew your father long before I actually joined Star Fox. He started training me to become a warrior when I was eleven years old."

"What's a warrior?" Jaden asked as he tilted his head.

Leon was about to answer, but he hesitated and struggled to find a definition that might make since to the child.

"Well, it's sort of like a soldier," Leon answered, "You know, someone who's trained to fight in war."

"So, you're a soldier then?" Jaden asked, sounding even more confused.

For some reason, the child's question caused Leon to think deeply about his answer. He'd gone to a military school and graduated as a fighter pilot, but he never once thought of himself as a "soldier". He and Marcus had always used the term warrior instead, as they saw themselves as brave fighters, not servicemen in the military.

"I'm not really a soldier," Leon said as he struggled to describe his job, "I'm sort of like a fighter who serves under the military for money."

"Oh, so you're a mercenary!" Jaden said with a smile.

Leon stared blankly at the child for a few seconds.

"Uh, yeah that!" Leon said with an embarrassed smile, "Kind of surprised you know what that is."

"My daddy's a mercenary too," Jaden said.

"Oh, well then of course you know," Leon said, feeling a little bit stupid that he didn't just say that he had the same job as his father.

Jaden looked at Leon with a sense of wonder. Leon turned to look at the kid's face of bewilderment as he stared down at Leon and examined his physical structure. He looked at his arms and legs like they were some form of fancy art. It made Leon feel a little bit uncomfortable at first, but he got used to it.

"Did you say my Daddy works with you?" Jaden asked curiously as he continued to look down at Leon.

"That's right," Leon answered, "You're father works as the captain for Star Fox. The rest of us are privates."

Jaden smiled and closed his eyes as he rested his chin on Leon's shoulder.

"Well, that makes since," Jaden said, "Only strong guys would work with my Daddy!"

"You think I'm strong?" Leon asked with a smile as he glanced at the child.

"Of course, you have big muscles!"

Leon laughed at Jaden's response.

"Strength is more than having big muscles kid," Leon said, and then he indicated towards Marcus and added, "See my brother over there? His muscles aren't as big as mine, but he's as good of a fighter as I am."

"But you're still strong, right?" Jaden asked.

"We're all strong," Leon said, and then he indicated towards Coby and added, "That guys strong too, even though he's not as good as me or Marcus."

"I heard that Leon," Coby hollered without looking back at Leon.

Leon chuckled and ignored the raccoon's response.

Leon and Jaden chatted on for a few more minutes and Falco continued to point out landmarks to Coby and Marcus. When the group finally arrived, everybody stopped talking, and Falco lead the group through the courtyard right outside the large, white structure. As they walked into the building, Marcus looked up at the two large pillars that were right outside the entrance. The academy looked incredibly majestic.

When everybody walked in, Falco began looking around for his friend. There were officers and recruits talking and walking around the large reception room.

"He said he would meet me here," Falco said as he placed his wings on his hips, "So I'm not sure where he-

"Hey, Falco!" a voice called out, echoing across the room.

Falco looked towards the direction where the voice came from, and he smiled when he saw a grey bunny in a white and blue uniform smiling and waving to him. Falco waved back, and then he indicating for the others to follow him. Davian walked over to Falco and offered his hand for a handshake.

"It' good to see you again sir," Davian said with a smile, "I'm glad you could make it. You didn't run into any propagandists on your way here, did you?"

"No, the media hasn't managed to bother us yet," Falco answered as he let go of Davian's hand.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Davian said with a relieved sigh, "I wouldn't want to put you guys under the spotlight. Did you bring the others?"

"Yep, they're right here," Falco said as he looked at the three rookies, "Men, this is Captain Davian."

Marcus smiled like a little kid and immediately dashed over to the bunny.

"I'm so glad I can finally meet you!" Marcus said as he eagerly shook Davian's hand, and then he began talking as fast as a ship in hyperspace, "My name's Marcus by the way. So are you really the grandson of General Peppy? Man that would be so cool if you were! I heard you have your own ship. Do you have a crew as well? I think it's amazing that you're already a captain at eighteen! Although I'm sixteen, so I guess that means I'm also young for my position. Hey, I guess that means we both have something in common! So, do you know where-

"Dude, slow down!" Davian said with wide eyes as he made a stopping gesture with his hand, "I can barely understand what you're saying!"

Marcus blushed nervously and quickly let go of Davian's hand. He put his own hand behind his head as he closed his eyes and laughed nervously.

"I'm sorry," Marcus said, "I just got a little excited since I knew who your grandad was."

"Oh, well that makes since," Davian said with a small smile.

Leon chuckled at Marcus's reaction. It reminded him of the time when he told Marcus that his own father was Wolf.

" _He gets so excited when he meets famous people who have some connection to Star Fox,"_ Leon thought to himself.

"Since you're a captain, I guess that means I should solute you," Coby said as he walked over to Davian with a smug smile and offered him is hand, "I hope you don't take offense to me not saluting."

"No, not at all," Davian said with a small laugh as he shook Coby's hand, "You're Private Coby, aren't you?"

"That's right," Coby said as he tilted his hat, "Official mechanic for Star Fox."

Davian let go of Coby's hand and walked over to Leon. He was about to offer him his hand until he saw the blue-furred kitten riding on Leon's back. Being careful not to drop Jaden, Leon lifted up his own hand, and Davian shook it promptly.

"And that would make you Leon," Davian said, acting a little bit more professional then he did with the other two rookies.

Leon didn't speak, and instead he just smiled and nodded.

"You know, I'm kind of surprised that you guys got here without being bombarded by news reporters and journalists," Davian said as he let go of Leon's hand and addressed all of the rookies, "Even after two weeks, the hype around the return of Star Fox still hasn't died down."

"I guess it's because none of us really look like pilots right now," Marcus said as he looked at his comrades, "And Falco's the only recognizable face in our group."

"I've been careful not to reveal my whole identity," Falco commented.

"You've done a good job so far," Davian said, and then he looked at the rookies and smiled, "Anyway, I didn't come here just to make small talk with you guys. There are a whole lot of other people who want to see you."

"Other people?" Coby said with a confused voice, and then his expression turned into one of anger as he growled at Davian, "Wait a minute, I thought you said you didn't want to put us under the spotlight!"

"Hey, I wasn't talking about journalists," Davian said with a laugh, "I was talking about my crew."

The other rookies looked at Davian with surprise.

"Your crew is here?" Marcus asked.

"Admiral Perry put us on leave. We've been waiting here for three days without a single thing to do, so we're pretty bored to say the least."

"Yeah, we'd love to see your crew!" Marcus said jubilantly.

"I don't see why not," Coby said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"It'd be nice to see some other rookies in the military besides ourselves," Leon said with a smile.

"Alright then," Davian said with a smile as he turned around and began walking away, "Follow me. I'll lead you to our waiting room."

The other rookies began walking with Davian, and then they realized that Falco and Katt weren't following them.

"Hey guys, aren't you coming?" Leon asked as he turned around.

"They want to see you guys," Falco answered with a smile, "We'll wait for you right here."

"Take good care of Jaden, Leon." Katt said with a smile.

"I will ma'am," Leon answered as he turned around and started following Davian again.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26: New Friends

Davian and the other rookies continued walking through the academy. They entered through a large corridor with several doors on each side of the wall, each labeled "waiting room" with a letter underneath it. The group walked up to the C door, and voices could be heard on the other side.

"Where the hell is the captain!?" one voice called out with an aggravated tone, "It feels like we've been waiting forever."

"Shut up private!" another voice yelled, "The captain will be here soon. Why do you have to complain about everything? You keep that attitude up, and I'll write you up!"

"Oh yeah, like the captain's gonna take that seriously!" the private yelled back.

"As the second-in-command, I'm in charge since the captain's gone. I have every right to punish you for insubordination!" the other voice yelled.

"Both of you stop talking," another voice said with a calm, yet stern tone.

"Don't tell me what to do sergeant!" the other voice yelled, "Like I side, I'm the second-in-

Before the voice could continue yelling, Davian knocked on the door.

"Private Clark, get the door!" the voice yelled again.

"The hell!?" the voice of a different private yelled, this one had a North Cornerian accent, "You're the closest one to the bloody door!"

Davian sighed and covered his eyes with one of his hands.

"Shut up and do as I say already!" the voice yelled again.

"I don't have to listen to you, you flea-bitten mutt."

"I'm you're lieutenant you stupid-!"

"WOULD YOU GUYS PLEASE OPEN THE DAMN DOOR ALREADY!?" Davian yelled.

Silence took place on the other side of the room. A chair pushed back, followed by some footsteps and the door being unlocked. When it opened, a German Shepard stood on the other side with slight intimidation on his face. He wore a less decorated version of Davian's uniform.

"Captain, sir!" the lieutenant said a bit sheepishly as he saluted Davian. "Uh, my apologies captain. It appears a couple of your men have a hard time following orders."

"It's really not that big a deal Dash," Davian said, "and you don't have to salute me when we're on leave."

"Right, sorry sir," Dash said as he broke his salute and moved away from the door.

"Hey captain!" one of the privates yelled from the other side of the room, "Where've you been this whole time anyway?"

"Getting some company," Davian said with a smile as he and the other rookies entered the room, and Davian moved out of the way so his crew could see the rookies, "I'd like you all to meet Marcus, Coby, and Leon. The official members of Star Fox."

Almost all of the crew members looked at the rookies with wide eyes and open mouths. A few of them even let out exasperations of surprise.

"Wait, you guys are part of Star Fox?" one of the privates asked, "You mean the same Star Fox that defeated the pirate ship two weeks ago!?"

The rookies looked at each other with blank expressions, until Marcus finally looked back and said,

"Yeah, I think so,"

A few seconds of silence passed until every single crew member stood up from his seat and began cheering.

"You guys really kicked their asses!" cheered a Dalmatian private.

"I can't believe a crew of three took out ninety pirates on their own!" a toad private yelled.

There were other lines of praise that could be heard over the roar of cheering that the crew members were giving. The rookies just looked even more confused than they did earlier.

"You don't get it do you?" Davian said with a smile as he walked over and stood next to the rookies.

"Leon, are you guys heroes!?" Jaden asked him with an excited smile.

"Davian, what's this all about?" Leon asked curiously as the men continued to cheer.

"Everyone's just glad that some of the bad guys were beaten," Davian answered, "With more attacks in the Lylat System than usual, we've been waiting for something like this for so long. We haven't really been able to do any good at all, so this is really encouraging. We're all also amazed about how well you guys managed to pull that mission off. It makes us all proud to be rookies."

"Are you guys gonna take out another pirate ship?" the Dalmatian private asked with a beaming smile as he dashed over to the rookies.

"Screw that! I'm sure they'll be able to take out three pirate ships in their next mission!" a raccoon private said as he dashed over to the rookies as well.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!"

The men all quieted down and looked at their lieutenant with slight surprise.

"What's the matter lieutenant?" the raccoon private asked, "Aren't you happy we get to see them now?"

"Of course I am," Dash said as he frowned at his crew, "but we won't be able to do anything if we keep barraging them with questions and cheering like a bunch of preschoolers who just won a soccer match!"

"Dash is right," Davian said with a small laugh and a smile, "We should be just a little bit more civil about this."

"Oh, of course!" the raccoon said with a laugh, and then he addressed the Star Fox members, "Do you guys want to have a seat?"

"We have so many question!" the Dalmatian said with a large, excited smile.

The rookies looked at each other and shrugged.

"Yeah, no problem!" Marcus said with a smile.

The Star Fox members sat down at the large table that spread out to either side of the room. Jaden climbed off of Leon's back and sat in his lap instead. Most of Davian's crew introduced themselves and gave their names, but the rookies could only remember about a quarter of them. The Dalmatian's name was Spot, the beaver's was Clark, the toad went by Wart, and there were a few others as well. Davian's crew and the Star Fox members began talking about Star Fox's first mission, and the two crews got along fairly well with each other.

"A lot of us have heard that you have telepathy," a vulpine private asked Marcus, "Is that just a rumor?"

"No, it's true," Marcus said with a smile.

A few of the privates exasperated at the news.

"So, you can read people's minds then?" the vulpine asked with excitement.

"I can read minds, I can speak to others with my thoughts, I can detect people's emotions, and I can control their physical movements,"

"You can control people!?" the vulpine yelled.

"Yeah, but it's much harder to do. It's easier if I just freeze their muscles and joints to keep them from moving."

"Did you use that in your mission?" a hyena private asked.

"Yep! Against a squad of about fifteen pirates,"

"That's amazing!" Private Spot said.

"Indeed, that sort of ability is quite remarkable." Private Clark added, "You must be the strongest member in your group."

Marcus laughed and shook his head.

"No, that would be Leon," Marcus said as he pointed a thumb at his brother.

Davian's crew looked at Leon with curiosity.

"Only by a small margin," Leon said with a smile.

"Leon can resist my telepathic powers when we battle each other," Marcus continued, "It's one of the main reasons why I have such hard time beating him."

"Wait a minute; are you the one who defeated Captain Maine?" Private Wart asked Leon.

Leon nodded, and the other crewmember smiled at each other.

"Well, then of course that makes you the strongest!" Lieutenant Dash said with a laugh as he slapped Leon on the back, "That man was a dangerous criminal, that's for sure."

"Yeah, I heard he was extremely strong!" Private Wart said.

"Maybe he was strong, but he was still just a pirate."

Everyone else at the table, including Leon, looked at the person who spoke. Leon recognized the voice as the same one that the lieutenant addressed as sergeant behind the door. He turned out to be a husky, wearing a large, green military infantry coat with a red scarf wrapped around his neck. He had grey and white fur, and his eyes were a light green, much like Fox's eyes. Leon's eyebrow rose a little when he saw the plasma sword strapped to the sergeants back. The sergeant didn't look back at him.

Leon leaned over to Davian and whispered in his ear,

"Who's that guy?"

"Sergeant Drake Winter," Davian answered, "He's the best point-man we've got in our crew. Not a very good pilot, but he's the first one I'd send on a ground mission."

"How good is he?" Leon asked.

"Very," Davian answered, "But I wouldn't expect any less. He was born and raised on the planet Katina."

Leon's eyes widened with slight surprise.

"Katina? You mean the military planet?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

Leon looked back at the husky and narrowed his eyes.

"Do you think you could've beat him as well sergeant?" the toad private asked.

"It's impossible for me to know whether or not I could have beaten him," Drake answered, "But there wouldn't be anything impressive about it if I did beat him. A pirate captain could hardly be considered a worthy foe."

Leon frowned at the husky's response.

"Do you only say that because he was a pirate?" Leon said.

"Are you saying he was a worthy opponent?" Drake countered.

"He was definitely a trained warrior," Leon responded, "It's not like he was just some weightlifting thug."

"Maybe he wasn't," Drake answered as he looked over to Leon, "But anyone can become a trained warrior."

Leon growled lowly in his throat. Drake's emotionless face and cold voice unsettled the lupine. He didn't know what to think of the husky.

The Star Fox members and Davian's crew continued talking. When they were finished, they all walked to the reception room, and Davian invited the whole Star Fox team, along with Falco's family, to go to lunch with him and his crew. While the other rookies were skeptical about the idea at first, all of their doubt went away when Falco happily accepted the invitation.

"Of course we'll go!" Falco said with a smile, "Thank you for inviting us Davian. I really wasn't expecting that."

"However, it may be a problem to get everyone into the diner," Katt said as she glanced over at Davian's crew, who were now laughing at some of Coby's past stories with Marcus and Leon, "There are thirty-six of us in total."

"But it's a pretty big diner, so we should be able to fit everyone," Davian answered, "Don't worry, I already made a reservation for us."

"We'll just put some tables together," Falco added.

"When are we going?" Jaden asked with a groan as his stomach growled, "I'm getting hungry."

"Yeah, so am I," Leon said as he hoisted Jaden a little more over his shoulders to get a better grip, "Guess we'll just have to hang in there a little longer."

"Well, we should probably leave now," Falco said as he looked down at his watch, "It's already twelve-thirty."

"Alright then," Davian said, and then he turned around and hollered at his men, "Everybody! We're gonna leave right now!"

"Oh, finally!" Marcus said as everyone began walking towards the exit, "I'm freaking starving."

When the whole group arrived at the diner, they had to put enough tables together for all thirty-six people. To both his surprise and relief, Falco soon realized that Davian's crew were actually some of the most care-free and friendly people in the world. Initially, Falco feared that they would either be hard-bitten or totally insensitive to others, but they actually turned out to be, for the most part, just ordinary people. Coby was laughing with a few others over stories that Falco assumed were about Marcus and Leon being stupid. The one's closer to Falco and his wife were playing peek-a-boo with Melody, causing the baby kitten and her mother to laugh. Private Spot was telling Marcus, Leon, and Jaden about their legendary admiral.

"No way!" Jaden said with a large smile, "Admiral Perry defeated a force of five-thousand soldiers with just two-hundred men!?"

"That's right!" Spot said with pride, "Our admiral is one of the strongest people in the entire Lylat System! Of course, after the Lylat Federation saw what power he had, they knew that they would need to promote him as fast as possible."

"That's so awesome!" Marcus said as he bounced in his chair and smiled brightly, "Oh man, now I really want to meet this guy!"

Leon rolled his eyes at Spot's words.

"Please, that's just a myth," Leon said with an aggravated voice.

"Oh, so it's not true?" Jaden said with disappointment as he looked up at Leon.

"No, it's true!" Spot said as he frowned at Leon, "What do you think Leon?"

"My opinion is that the whole idea is absolutely ridiculous," Leon scoffed, "If he was out-numbered that badly, then no 'unique ability or talent' could even the odds."

Spot laughed at this.

"Pardon me, but didn't you two and Coby defeat more than sixty pirates on your own?" Spot said, "Yet you think no one else could possesses such monstrous power."

"Actually, Marcus is a telepath, and lupines are super soldiers compared to other Lylats," Leon countered, "At least our achievement is believable when you look at our skills. However, defeating five thousand men with two hundred is just ridiculous."

"By the way, what army did he defeat?" Marcus interrupted.

"Why, the Katinian rebel army of course!" Spot said with a smile.

"Rebel army?"

"Before either one of us was born, a rebellion took place on the military planet of Katina," Leon explained, "A corrupted military general tried to overthrow the HQ, and because of the size of the rebel army, help was sent immediately. However, when they arrived, the rest of the Katina army already took care of the problem."

"And amongst the mist of the battlefield," Spot continued with a smile, "A small division of soldiers along with their leader emerged."

"And that leader was Perry?" Marcus asked.

Spot smiled and nodded.

"When the general who had been sent to help arrived at the battlefield," Spot continued, "Perry walked up to him and simply said they already took care of the problem.'"

"That's so awesome!" Marcus said with a smile, "So I guess that really does mean he did it!"

"No, it doesn't," Leon dead-panned, "It just means he arrived at the battlefield and claimed victory after everyone had been killed. There was most likely a disagreement within the corrupted general's army, and the soldiers ended up killing each other. That's a much more likely explanation than a small division defeating an entire army."

"But Leon, think about it!" Spot said with an excited smile, "Why would the Federation promote a man if it was so blatantly obvious that he'd lied? Also, even if there was some sort of rebellion within the general's ranks, there would have had to been a winning side, right? They wouldn't have all been killed!"

Leon shook his head.

"I still don't believe it," he said defiantly.

Marcus and Jaden both closed their eyes and smiled.

"Well, we believe it!" they said.

"That's because you're both stupid," Leon mumbled to himself.

An hour passed as the group waited for their food to arrive. When the servers came, everybody dug into their food and continued talking. Falco caught up on any news that Davian could offer him.

"So the military's been taking more action than usual," Falco said as he took a bite of his pasta.

"That's what I'm assuming right now," Davian said as he blew on his carrot soup, which was still steaming hot, "They've been circulating units and moving us around to certain locations for the last week. That's how my crew ended up here."

"Where were you before you came to Corneria?" Falco asked.

"Aquas," Davian replied as he quite blowing on his soup and finally managed to take a bite, "Admiral Perry was having a chat with the local Commander-in-Chief, although I'm not sure why."

"Ah, but why do we worry about it?" Dash said as he tore of a large chunk of meat from his meat leg, and then he spoke with a full mouth, "Knowing the admiral, he definitely had a good reason for going. I don't feel suspicious about it."

"I sent Drake down to the planet to see if there was any mass mobilization of Aquas's military," Davian said as he nodded to the sergeant sitting right next to him.

"Did you see any?" Falco asked.

"None," Drake said as he cut his steak, "Everything looked fairly calm."

"I don't think the local military forces on these planets are taking any serious action right now," Davian said, "But the Lylat Federal Government is another story."

"But most of the federations military comes from Corneria," Falco noted, "So they probably wouldn't need any local militaries anyway."

"I was thinking the same thing," Davian said.

Katt, who had been listening on the entire conversation, gave a small smile and sighed.

"You guys need to stop talking about this," Katt said as she looked at both Davian and Falco, "Really, this isn't a meeting. Talk about something else, or you'll both start drowning in your work."

Dash let out a large laugh.

"The woman's right," the German Shepard said as he slapped Davian on the back, "C'mon captain, we're here to have a good time!"

Falco and Davian both looked at each other for a few seconds, but then they both smiled and nodded.

"So Davian," Falco began as he took another bite out of his pasta, "Tell me how you managed to become a captain so fast."

At the center of the table, Coby was talking to one of the mechanics of Davian's crew, a beaver by the name of Private Clark. Coby recognized his voice as the same private who was yelling at Lieutenant Dash from inside the waiting room.

"Building a turret isn't a simple process," Clark said as he stirred his salad, "Have you constructed the blueprints for the project?"

"I finished it a while back during training," Coby replied, "Took me six months to make it. I haven't really had any time to work on the actual turret until just recently."

"Are they operated manually or automatically?"

"Hopefully both if I can get the project finished all the way through,"

Clark let out a silent huff and shook his head.

"If the blueprint took you six months to make," Clark said as he took a bite of his salad, "I say your finishing point is quite a distance away."

Coby sighed and nodded with reluctant agreement. He knew finishing the turrets would be nearly impossible with all the mission work. It would be years before he even finished a properly functioning prototype.

"The biggest problem I can see is that you have no team," Clark noted, " _The Blazing Comet_ has a team of four mechanics, and so our technical problems are probably solved much faster than yours."

"Maybe it would help," Coby said, "But if they do join, I'll let them know that I'm in charge as the head mechanic. The Great Fox is my responsibility."

Clark let out a laugh.

"Managing a whole ship by yourself is an unreasonable responsibility. You should look for some recruits who'd be willing to join."

"We're talking about Star Fox here," Coby said as he smiled menacingly at Clark, "How many people do you think would be crazy enough to join us?"

"You did, and so did those other two morons," Clark said as he casually smiled back at Coby, "That's three crazy people right there."

Coby didn't respond, and he simply resumed eating his salad.

"You know," Clark began again with inquiry in his voice, "I was going to say it earlier, but we were on a different topic. That uniform of yours seems…well, familiar.

Coby stopped eating and looked over to Clark.

"It's not a problem or anything," Clark said with a small laugh, "It just caught my eye. I feel like I've seen it before."

Coby blinked a few times and then smiled.

"What to know a little secret?" Coby asked as he set his fork down.

"Don't see why not," Clark answered with a nod.

Coby looked to his left, still smiling.

"Well, the truth is, you probably have seen this uniform before," Coby said.

"Really!" Clark said with a smile, getting more intrigued.

"Yeah," Coby answered, and then he looked back at Clark and asked, "Have you heard of the Canister Gang before?"

Clark lifted his head and pointed at Coby.

"That's the one!" Clark said, "I knew it started with a C, but I didn't know the full name."

The Canister Gang members were some of the most famous criminals in the Lylat System. They basically orchestrated the weapons smuggling program in the underworld until it collapsed entirely. No bounty hunter in his right mind ever tried to take them on. They even crossed swords with legendary groups like Star Wolf. Hearing the name Canister Gang caused many civilians and criminals alike to tremble with fear.

"So tell me mate," Clark began again, "why are you wearing their uniform?"

"Maybe I just like their style," Coby responded as he opened his eyes and starred at Clark, "What's wrong with liking a gang's choice of uniform?"

"Seems oddly specific if you ask me," Clark said, "You sure there isn't some other reason?"

"Look, I like these clothes okay?" Coby said with a slightly aggravated voice as he started eating again, "Don't see why there should be a problem with that."

Clark shrugged his shoulders and continued eating as well.

"Guess you're right about that one. No reason for me to be suspicious about a man's clothing."

"No, there isn't," Coby said, and then he looked up at the beaver and added, "Anyway, about the turrets I'm building…"

All across the table, conversation and laughter went on for about two whole hours. When everybody finished, their watches read three o'clock, and the captains decided the time to leave had arrived.

"Where will you guys be staying for the night?" Falco asked Davian as they stood outside the diner.

"There's a barracks connected to the academy. We'll be sleeping there for the night."

Falco nodded and offered his wing to Davian with a smile.

"Well, then I guess this is where we part for now," Falco said.

"Goodbye captain," Davian said with a smile as he shook Falco's hand, "Hope we can do this again some time."

"Hey, blue bird!" Dash yelled as he walked over to Falco with a large grin and fiercely shook his hand, "Let's team up in the future."

Falco smiled and nodded.

Meanwhile, Spot gave his farewells to Marcus, Leon, and Jaden.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to say goodbye for now," Spot said with a smile, and then he looked over to Leon and added, "Maybe someday, Admiral Perry will give you a demonstration of his strength."

"Don't count on it," Leon said with a sarcastic smile, and then he shook hands with Spot.

"Seya!" Jaden said as he offered his hand to Spot, and Spot had to reach up a little bit more since the child was on Leon's shoulders.

"It'd be great if we could talk more," Marcus said with an excited smile as he shook hands with Spot.

Spot slightly chuckled and nodded.

Coby and Clark were finishing up their conversation that they started at the table.

"On a last note, I'd suggest you find some expert who can help you with this Coby," Clark said, "I know you're reluctant to have anyone above you, but this project is a bit out of your league."

"Alright, I'll think about," Coby said with a sigh, and then he smiled and tilted his hat at the beaver, "I'll see you later Clark."

"Goodbye Coby," Clark said with a smile.

When everyone had finished saying their goodbyes, Davian's crew started heading back towards the academy. Falco smiled to himself as the crew went out of sight. Katt walked over to him with Melody in her stroller.

"They're good men," she said with a smile, "You know how to make friends with the right people."

"Nah, I just got lucky," Falco said as he turned around and started walking away, "Davian was the one who approached me first."

"Well, then I guess you draw good people towards you," Katt said with a chuckle as she walked with her husband.

When the other rookies started following the couple, Falco said,

"There are still places you guys need to see. We better hurry before the day runs out."

"What kind of places?" Marcus asked, "You've been pretty vague about our daily plans."

"All kinds of places," Falco answered with a smile, "Places you guys will like, I promise."

Marcus sighed.

"Then I guess that means it's still a surprise then?"

Falco smiled and nodded.


	27. Chapter 27

**Small Fixes: A few errors I've corrected**

 **1\. Chapter 26 is no longer titled chapter 24**

 **2\. Katt has pink fur, not black fur. This happened in chapter 24, but I corrected it**

 **3\. Admiral Perry is the guardian Phoenix of Katina, not Falconia**

 **Also, if anybody sees any other grammar issues while they're reading, please, please, PLEASE leave a review or PM me. I don't expect all my readers to be editors, but if you guys do catch errors, I would really appreciate it if you pointed them out to me (even if it's from chapter one).**

 **Thank you, and please enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 27: A Father, a Husband, and a Leader

Falco's family and the Star Fox team spent the rest of their day out in the city. They went to the famous Cornerian Museum which stored the long history of the planet. They saw a drama play in one of the older theaters that had been around for generations. For Coby's sake, Falco took the raccoon to a gun show, and the mechanic went a little nuts as he inspected each and every weapon like a critic going over an artist's paintings.

When it was finally getting late, Falco took everyone back to the hotel. It was nine o'clock, and the group decided to get ready for bed. Before the rookies headed off to their rooms, Falco invited them to his suite so he could have a talk with them. The rookies were sitting on the couch, and Falco stood up as he addressed them. The avian looked worn out as he smiled weakly at his men.

"I hope you all had a good time," he said weakly.

The three rookies smiled and nodded. Falco didn't speak as he closed his eyes and looked down at the floor. The rookies quite smiling as they realized something was going on.

"This will be our last day in this city," Falco said as he continued to look at the ground with closed eyes, "In fact, it will probably be out last day in civilian life for a long time."

Falco sighed as he sat down on the couch chair across from the rookies. When he got settled it, he opened his eyes and looked up at his pilots.

"About an hour ago, I received a call from one of the vice admirals down at HQ. Thirty captains have been called to up meet on Altor Base. Fleet Admiral Tarandro has issued this as a top priority meeting, so I have a good feeling something big has come up."

"Altor Base?" Marcus said with a confused voice, "What's that?"

"Idiot, did you ever pay attention in class?" Coby said, "Altor Base is the new space station that's hovering over Corneria. It was finished two years ago. Seriously, we had a whole lecture over it."

"I never really payed attention to those lectures," Marcus said as he shrugged his shoulders, "They seemed pretty meaningless."

"Back to the main point," Falco said with a slightly aggravated, yet still tired voice, "I'm required to take my second-in-command with me, so that means I need to take the highest ranking officer with me."

Each of the rookies looked at each other, and then back at their captain.

"Well, I guess that means we're all going!" Marcus said exuberantly with a smile, "Since we're all privates, we're all the same rank."

"Not for long," Falco said as he stared intently at his pilots, "It's time for me to promote my first sergeant."

Marcus stopped smiling, and Falco got up from his chair and put his wings behind his back.

"Private Leon, please stand," Falco said with a formal voice.

Leon hesitated. He looked at Marcus and Coby, and then he awkwardly stood up from his chair. Falco indicated for him to step forward, and Leon obeyed.

"I feel like I'm doing this a little bit too early," Falco began, "But given the present situation, it looks like I don't really have any choice. So, congratulations Leon. You have now been promoted to First Sergeant."

Leon didn't respond, and Falco offered him his wing for a handshake. Leon shook it with doubt on his face.

"Thank you captain," Leon said, "But are you sure you want it to be me? I don't think-

"That's my order sergeant," Falco said sternly as he let go of Leon's hand, "You're just gonna have to follow it."

Leon didn't question his captain any further. He nodded and sat back down in his chair. Marcus nudged him with his elbow, and Leon looked over to the vulpine. His brother smiled and winked at him, and Leon half-smiled back before looking at Falco again.

"Tomorrow we'll be heading back to the Great Fox," Falco continued, "When we've boarded, we'll take off for Altor Base. Coby, Marcus, you two will have to wait with R.O.B aboard the Great Fox, while Leon and I attend the meeting."

"How long do you think it'll take?" Coby asked.

"Depends on what the Fleet Admiral is talking about, although I'm guessing it'll be a few hours before it's over."

Coby sighed and rested his head behind his hands.

"Well, guess it's time for more "waiting on the ship and doing nothing" routine,"

"It won't take two weeks," Falco said as he glared at the raccoon, and then he looked back at his pilots with a more urgent tone and added, "And I want you all to take this more seriously. This isn't a vacation or a game. You proved yourselves that you're ready for combat when you defeated Captain Maine and his crew, but that's just the beginning. If the Fleet Admiral has called up this many captains for one meeting, than it's pretty clear that something really big has happened. Given the amount of attack that have taken place, I have a strong feeling this meeting is gonna be about taking action."

"No big deal," Coby said as he stood up with a smile, "We took out sixty criminals on our own right? Now combine that with thirty other captains, crews, and ships. I highly doubt our enemy is big enough to pose a significant threat."

"I've said it a million times private, _don't let your guard down_ ," Falco said as he frowned more intently at the raccoon, "No matter how strong you think you are, you're never going to have a guaranteed victory. As long as they're still alive, our enemies, whoever they may be, are only going to get stronger and stronger every day. Take my word for it. Things are only going to get tougher from here on out."

"I doubt that," Coby said with a scoff as he sat back down and crossed his arms, "Really Falco, do you honestly think our enemies will be that strong?"

"Yes, I do," Falco said sternly.

Coby huffed and tilted his hat down over his eyes.

"Anyway, that's all I needed to say," Falco said, "You're all dismissed."

Coby and Marcus got up from their seats and began heading out of the room. Coby yawned as he walked out.

"I'm telling you Falco," Coby called out before he left, "Eight to five this whole thing will be over in less than a month."

Marcus and Coby left the room, and Falco realized that Leon hadn't gone yet.

"Leon, you can go now," Falco said.

"Just a minute sir," Leon said as he walked over to his captain, looking a little bit anxious, "There's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Falco said as he crossed his arms, "You look more troubled than usual."

"That's because I am," Leon said honestly, "Look, I need you to keep a secret okay?"

Falco hesitated at first, but then he nodded. Leon looked around the room as if he was afraid someone else was listening. When he decided it was safe, he finally spoke.

"Okay, I'll tell you," Leon said.

Six hours ago while Davian's crew and Falco's group were saying goodbye, Leon felt something slip into his back pocket. He jumped a little as he quickly turned around, but he didn't see anybody there. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded white piece of paper. Leon's eyes narrowed, and when he opened up the paper, he saw that it was a note.

 _Meet me at the front outside of your hotel by nine o'clock tonight._

"What's that?" Jaden asked curiously as he looked at the note over Leon's shoulder.

"Nothing," Leon said with a smile as he crumpled up the paper and put it back into his pocket, "Just some trash."

When Falco's group reached the hotel, it was already eight fifty. Leon quickly dropped Jaden off in Falco's suite, and then he headed for the hotel's entrance. He stopped halfway however, and decided to get to his room first. He pulled out his plasma blaster along with the belt and holster, and quickly strapped it across his waist.

" _I'm not taking any chances,"_ Leon thought to himself as he walked out of his room and headed for the elevator.

When Leon reached the first floor, he walked to the exit and carefully opened the door. Leon growled lowly and looked around, but he appeared to be alone. He thought it might be a good idea to just walk inside and forget about the note entirely until he heard a voice call out to him.

"You arrived just on time," the voice said.

A figure walked out from the alleyway next to the hotel. Leon immediately recognized him from Davian's crew. The husky, Sergeant Drake.

Leon's eyes narrowed with suspicion as the sergeant starred at him. As before, the sergeant's face was completely devoid of any emotion.

"You're from Davian's crew," Leon said, "What do you want with me?"

"I have a message for you," Drake said, "The man who gave it to me made me promise that I would show it to no one else but you."

"Who's the messenger?" Leon asked.

"You're biological father, Wolf O'Donnell."

Leon didn't say anything. He didn't jump, or gasp, or freeze from shock. Instead, he just stared blankly at the husky for a few seconds.

"I met him during my mission on Aquas," Drake continued, "He knew Davian was connected to Star Fox. He also knew that I was a member of Davian's crew. He even knew my name, but when I asked him how he knew, he didn't give me an answer."

"What was the message?" Leon asked plainly.

"The wind is howling."

Leon's mouth opened slightly and then it closed again as he looked down at the ground.

"I have no idea what it means, but he told me you would know." Drake said.

Leon breathed heavily through his nose and nodded.

"Yeah, I know what it means," he said as he looked up at Drake, "Thanks for delivering the message."

"Of course," Drake said with a nod, and then he walked away, leaving Leon alone.

Back in the present, Falco was nodding slowly as Leon told him the story.

"And did he tell you anything else?" Falco asked.

"Nothing," Leon answered, "Nothing but the message my father gave him."

"About that message," Falco said, "You said you knew what it meant?"

"I do," Leon answered, looking a bit disturbed, "The term 'The wind is howling' is commonly used as slang by my people."

"What does it mean?" Falco asked.

Leon frowned darkly at Falco, and then spoke with a deep, edgy voice,

"War is coming."

Falco put a wing under his chin and turned around, facing his back towards Leon.

"Leon, why are you only telling me this?" Falco asked, "Why can't you tell the others?"

"Because Marcus and Coby will immediately start worrying about me again, especially Marcus." Leon said, "He'll think that I'm stressing out about it because my father is the one involved. Besides, Drake said the message was intended for me, so I already feel a little guilty that I told you."

Falco turned around and smiled at the lupine.

"So, you want to respect your father's request?" Falco asked.

Leon frowned at the avian.

"It has nothing to do with my father," Leon said, "But when somebody tells me to keep a secret, I usually want to honor that request."

"Right, right, I understand," Falco said, "But you haven't told me why this worries you."

Leon shifted uncomfortably.

"You said it yourself Falco, you had a feeling conflict was going to come soon. This meeting the Fleet Admiral is hosting confirms that suspicion, so I'm not worried about the message itself. What I'm worried about is the fact that it came from my father."

Falco tilted his head in confusion, and Leon tried to explain himself.

"If my father knows that war is coming, then…what part is he playing in it?"

Falco thought for a couple of seconds, but then he smiled.

"Ah, I see what you mean," Falco said.

Leon sighed and looked down at the ground. He wondered if he should tell Falco the same think he told Marcus two weeks ago. He made a decision and looked back at Falco.

"I think my father was the commander above Captain Maine," Leon said.

Falco quite smiling and looked at the Leon with a little bit of surprise.

"I think…I'm afraid that Wolf is the man behind the gun," Leon continued, "I think he might be the one who's starting up all of this conflict. Falco, you know my father much better than I do. Tell me, is that a likely scenario?"

Falco shook his head and answered right of the bat.

"No, I don't think so,"

Leon frowned and growled a little at Falco.

"Don't say that just to make me feel better," Leon growled, "Tell me the truth Falco."

"I am," Falco said with a smile, "Leon, Wolf's not that kind of villain. He doesn't act as a warlord or head commander or any of that crap. Wolf's a soldier and a warrior. When he does his job, he gets his own hands dirty."

Leon sighed and looked away.

"That's what Marcus told me,"

"Well, he was right," Falco said as he walked over to Leon and looked at him right in the eye, "Your old man may have been a criminal, but he was no Andross."

Leon turned his eyes and looked at Falco.

"But, he could still be on the other side, right?"

"He could be," Falco answered, "But this sort of behavior is odd for him. Sending a messenger, especially a Lylat soldier in his place… that's not like him."

Falco walked over to Leon and slapped him on the shoulder.

"Look, don't overthink it," Falco said, "We still don't anything about your Father, and it's too soon to make assumptions. Go get some rest sergeant. It's almost ten o'clock."

Leon sighed and nodded.

"I'm glad I could tell you. I hate having to hold every single secret to myself."

"Are you still not gonna tell Marcus or Coby?"

"Would it really do anything?" Leon asked, "They already know that something big is about to happen, or is happening, in the Lylat System. I don't need those two worrying about my father like I do. This is something I need to handle on my own."

Falco nodded in agreement. Just before Leon could leave, both he and Falco heard one of the bedroom doors open. They both looked over and saw Jaden walking out in his pajamas, rubbing his eyes.

"Jaden, you should be in bed kiddo," Falco said.

Jaden looked over to Leon with tired eyes, and then he looked at his father and said,

"Is it okay if I sleep with him?"

Falco looked over at Leon with a questioning gaze. The lupine smiled and nodded.

"If you want to, go right ahead," Falco said as he looked back at Jaden with a smile.

The child smiled back and walked over to Leon. The lupine crouched to the ground so he could hop up onto his back.

"Thank you," Jaden mumbled as Leon began walking out of the room.

Leon and Jaden both walked out, leaving Falco alone in the living room. Stretching his wings, Falco walked over to his bedroom and opened the door. He walked in and quietly closed the door behind him, being careful not to wake his wife. Falco let out a grunt of relief as he pulled his unbuttoned shirt off of his wings. He rubbed his shoulders and sat down on the bed. Falco closed his eyes and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"You were talking to them for quite some time," a voice said.

Falco opened his eyes and glanced over at the bed. His wife was looking up at him with a brightening smile. Falco couldn't hold back a smile of his own.

"We had a lot to talk about," Falco said as he looked away, "Plus Leon had something he needed to tell me personally."

"Just you?" Katt asked as she sat up in the bed, and Falco nodded.

"It was about Wolf again," Falco continued, sounding more tired, "He sent his son a message about the upcoming conflict in the Lylat System."

Katt softly sighed as she looked down at the covers.

"Guess Leon's never gonna be free of that," she said.

"Of course not," Falco said with a small laugh, "Not when your father is one of the most well-known criminals in the whole system."

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him the truth," Falco said as he looked over at his wife, "I told him not to worry."

Katt nodded, and the two sat in silence. Falco felt something else nagging at his conscience. He sighed heavily and bent his head down as he asked with a solemn voice,

"Am I a good father?"

Katt looked over at her husband with slight surprise.

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, sounding a bit confused.

"Am I good with my children?" Falco asked as he opened his eyes, "Do I spend enough time with my son? Do I carry my daughter and sing to her when she most needs it?"

Katt scooted a little closer to her husband, feeling a bit concerned. She placed one of her hands on his back.

"You're children love you," Katt said with a reassuring voice, "And you love your children."

"But I'm hardly ever with them," Falco said as he looked back at Katt, "Honey, I see my soldiers more then I see my own kids."

"That doesn't mean you don't love them," Katt said as she scooted closer to Falco until she was right behind him, "We already knew you wouldn't be home very often when we decided to have kids."

"And what about you?" Falco said, sounding guiltier with every word, "We barely get to spend this much time together, and now I'm going back to my job tomorrow."

Falco's guilt reduced significantly as two arms wrapped around his chest and a familiar chin rested on his shoulder. Falco slightly turned his head to look at Katt, who smiled brightly at him.

"You don't think I knew what kind of man you were before we married?" Katt said, "I always knew the military would play a larger role in your life. You were always so invested in it, even when I first met you."

"So was Fox," Falco said, although he didn't sound as guilty, "He managed to get out of it with Krystal."

"No, I knew Fox would leave before you," Katt said, "He wasn't the kind of man who would have the endurance to stay, especially when someone he deeply loved came into his life. He left mostly because he was concerned for Krystal."

"Does that mean I'm not concerned for you?" Falco asked as his eyes lowered a little.

"Don't be ridiculous," Katt said, "And don't compare yourself to Fox. You are both very different people, with different flaws and different strengths."

Falco smiled a little more and looked away.

"Do you really think I should stay?" Falco asked.

"Do you think you should leave?" Katt replied.

Falco didn't respond right off the bat. He thought a little bit more, and something came to his mind that allowed him to easily answer that question.

"No, I don't," Falco said, "Not yet anyway. There are… things I need to take care of."

"It's the boys isn't it?" Katt asked with a warm voice and smile.

Falco closed his eyes and let out a small laugh as he hung his head. Katt chuckled and closed her eyes as she pressed her chin into Falco's shoulder.

"They're also your kids," Katt whispered, "of course you want to take care of them."

Falco opened his eyes.

"They have no idea how important they are to me," Falco said with a low voice, "They always felt like my sons. They're the reason why I wanted to start a family so badly. I can't tell them because…"

"Because you're also their captain," Katt answered for him.

Falco nodded.

"I need to be their leader first. I promised Fox I would keep my eyes on them, and I mean to keep that promise. Until I'm sure Leon can take charge as the captain, I'll be it for them."

Katt didn't respond, but her husband's words made her feel warm on the inside. She couldn't believe how much he'd matured over the years. The Falco she knew twenty years ago would never have dreamed of saying something like that.

"Then be their captain," Katt said with a smile, "Do it for as long as you need to."

Falco didn't respond, and instead he just nodded. Katt wrapped both of her legs around Falco's waist, pulling him closer to her. She closed her eyes as she began gently kissing his neck. Falco closed his eyes as well and let out a small sigh of satisfaction.

"This is our last night with each other for the next couple months," Katt whispered, "So let's make it a good one."

Katt closed her eyes again and continued to kiss his neck. Falco smiled and chuckled a little as he felt her purring. Katt let go of his waist and chest, and he laid her back onto the bed. Falco straddled her waist, and the two looked at each other with loving eyes.

"That sounds like a great idea," he said with a smile.

Falco leaned down to kiss his wife, and the two embraced each other.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28: The Stranger

When morning came, Falco and his team showered and dressed before heading off to the spaceport where the Great Fox was docked. Falco's family came with them of course, as Katt and Jaden both wanted to say their farewells. Marcus and Coby managed to get off with a simple "goodbye" before boarding the ship. Leon and Falco, however, were another story.

"It'll only be for a few months," Falco said with a reassuring voice as he held his wife's hands, "I'll be back before you know it."

Katt smiled and nodded without saying a word. She let go of Falco's hands and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Look after those kids," Katt said as she closed her eyes, and then she added with a softer voice, "I love you."

` "I love you too,"

The two held on to each other for a few more seconds until Falco put his hands onto her shoulders and gently pushed her back. With a last goodbye kiss, Falco let Katt go and began walking off to the ship. Katt's eyes began to water when he turned his back.

"Please be safe," she whispered as he boarded the ship.

Leon was crouching down to Jaden's level. The kitten had wrapped his arms around his neck, and was having a hard time letting go.

"Will you be back soon?" Jaden asked with a low voice.

"I don't know kiddo," Leon replied, "but I'll be back. We'll all be back someday."

Jaden let go of Leon and looked up into his eyes. Needless to say, the boy looked nervous.

"Are you… are you gonna fight bad guys with my Daddy?"

"That's right, we'll be working together."

Jaden's ears dropped and he looked down at the ground.

"Can…can you look after my Daddy for me?"

Leon's mouth opened with slight surprise. He wasn't expecting Jaden to say something like that. That child looked up at him with a pleading face.

"He's kind of old to be fighting," Jaden continued, "but I can tell you're really strong. So, will you make sure he doesn't get hurt?"

Leon looked shocked. Jaden always seemed like such a naïve and innocent kid to him. He had no idea Jaden could have this much insight. The kitten even understood that his father's age was a major disadvantage in battle, in fact, so much that he was even concerned about it.

Leon blinked a few times and smiled. He rubbed Jaden's head, causing the kitten to close his eyes and giggle. When Leon stopped, Jaden looked up at him with a beaming face.

"I'll look after you're old man for you," Leon said with a smile, "Until then, promise me that you'll be obedient with your Mom, okay?"

Jaden nodded, and the two hugged each other again. Leon chuckled to himself and whispered into the kittens ear,

"But not _too_ obedient,"

Jaden giggled in a mischievous way and nodded again.

As Leon walked back to the ship, Katt wiped both of her eyes and cleared her throat. She smiled and waved at him.

"Goodbye Leon!" she called out, "You and your brother look after each other!"

"We will ma'am!" Leon said as he waved back.

When Leon boarded the ship, R.O.B spoke through the intercom.

"All members have boarded. Captain Falco, you may begin you're ascent."

The ship slowly rose from the space port and sped up as it got farther and farther away. Soon it went into the sky and passed through the atmosphere, leaving the sight of its onlookers. Jaden inched over to Katt and put both of his arms around her waist. Katt grabbed him by his shoulder and brought him closer, and the two looked up into the sky.

"I hope he comes back soon," Jaden said with a quiet voice.

Katt looked down at her son and smiled. She moved her hand from his shoulder and placed onto his head, titling his eyes towards her own.

"Your father will be fine. He has some good people on his side."

Jaden smiled and nodded.

"Leon said he'd protect him," Jaden said, "So I know he'll be okay!"

Katt chuckled and looked back up at the sky.

"Of course he'll be okay," she whispered.

Back in the Great Fox, all of the crewmembers were inside the bridge. Falco rested one of his wings on the dashboard as he looked down on Corneria. He sighed softly and closed his eyes.

" _I'll be back for you three,"_ he thought to himself, " _No matter what, I'm not gonna die on the field."_

Falco opened his eyes again and turned around. His men were sitting down on the left and right side of the room, just like last time. For no particular reason, the bridge had become their meeting room on the Great Fox. Falco put both of his wings behind his back and began going over the plans.

"When we reach Altor Base, Leon and I will board the station. Like I already explained, Marcus and Coby, you two will be holding down the fort aboard the Great Fox with R.O.B until we get back."

"Isn't there a waiting room we could sit in?" Marcus asked with an aggravated voice, "Why do we have to stay on the ship?"

"Altor Base is one of the most security tight locations in the Cornerian military," Falco answered, "Only people who are permitted to board the station are allowed on. Leon and I were the only ones permitted to board, so you two wouldn't even be allowed in."

"What? Why!?" Marcus yelled, "Do they think we're spies or something?! I don't want to stay on this ship any more than I need to after the last two weeks!"

"I don't want to stay here either Marcus," Coby said with a sigh as he tilted his hat up and looked at the vulpine, "But, unfortunately, we're just gonna have to wait this time."

"Oh come on Coby!" Marcus groaned, "You're the last person I would expect to agree to this plan! Don't you at least want to see the base?"

"It's not that I don't want to see the station," Coby said as he closed his eyes and tilted his hat down, "But Altor Base isn't a place for tourists. It's an actual space station, and the military won't take their security measures lightly with it. It's the largest and most powerful station ever built by the Lylat Federation. It's pretty difficult to exaggerate its importance."

"That's true," Leon said as he crossed his arms, "No wonder the military would be so strict with it."

Marcus's ears perked up, and his facial expression turned from one of frustration to one of curiosity.

"But why is it so important?" Marcus asked.

Coby let out a frustrated sigh as he took off his hat and rubbed his scalp.

"Man, you really _didn't_ listen to any of our class lectures, did you?" Coby said.

"Not really," Marcus said with a smile, "I just drew pictures while Mr. Spear was talking. I got pretty good at it too!"

Coby sighed again and put his hat back on. He sat up straight and interlocked his fingers.

"Well, then I guess I'll give you a short lesson on it," Coby said, "Since we're already heading there, you might as well know something about it."

"Good idea," Leon said, not looking in the least surprised that Marcus didn't know anything about Altor Base.

"Now then, Altor Base is the first space station ever build by the Lylat Federation that was meant to function primarily as a defensive structure. While other stations in the past have had some military importance to them, they mostly served as transportation spots, refueling stations, and warehouses."

"But Altor Base serves military purposes only?" Marcus asked.

"That's right," Coby answered, "No civilian ship is allowed into the sector that Altor Base covers without first going through a strict procedure, and a lot aren't able to pass through the procedure at all. Most ships are forced to go around."

"What military purposes does it serve?"

"A lot. The station serves as a docking bay and refueling pod for military ships. It's laid out with several anti-aircraft turrets, along with a shield that spans over a large area around it. It's a perfect place for military ships to stay since its right outside Corneria's atmosphere."

"Why is that important?" Marcus asked.

"Because if the planet is ever attacked, it'll already have ships out in space ready to defend it. They won't have to leave the planet, so catching the fleet off guard is nearly impossible for invaders."

"So, basically, the fleet's always ready for an attack?"

Coby smiled and nodded.

"It's a major defensive advantage, one that's never been practiced on this large a scale with this many ships."

"I see why it's so important," Marcus said with a sense of awe in his voice, but then he noticed something else Coby had mentioned and added, "You said it's never been practiced on this large a scale. Does that mean it's been practiced before?"

"It was used many times during the Aperoid wars, and probably many times before that. However, in the past, the defending planet suffered from one major factor."

"What's that?" Marcus asked.

"Leaving a fleet parked in space for too long is dangerous. It drains fuel, and does a number on the ship's engines and stabilizers. Therefore, the military would have to alternate ships in the fleet with ones on the planet, but the entire process was hazardous work. It consumed both time and resources."

"But why couldn't the fleet just wait until the enemy arrived to enter space?" Marcus asked, "If you could detect an invading fleet approaching, couldn't you mobilize before the enemy arrived?"

"It's not that simple," Coby answered as he shook his head, "First off, detecting an approaching fleet is much more difficult than it sounds, and the patrols are usually far too late to discover the enemy. Secondly, the Aperoids in particular were masters of surprise. They would manage to exit hyperspace right before they crashed into the planet's atmosphere, and then they could raid the planet's surface in a matter of minutes. The defending planet wouldn't even manage to get their fleet of the ground before it was reduced to ash and scrap metal by the invaders. However, with a planetary defense station, the invaders would be heading right into the firing line of the defending planet. If every planet had a space station like Altor Base during the Aperoid wars, the conflict would have been over much faster, and with much less blood."

"That makes since," Marcus said as he put a paw under his chin, "But there's one thing that I don't really understand."

"What is it?" Coby asked.

"Altor Base is stationed on only one side of the planet right?" Marcus asked, "So, what if the enemy came from behind the planet? Couldn't they just attack in full force from any other side of the planet, and still overwhelm it?"

Coby smiled. Even though Marcus sucked when it came to lectures, he was still well-minded with strategy on the battlefield.

"That sounds pretty logical, but there's quite a few catches." Coby answered, "Altor Base covers the main urban areas and sectors of Corneria, which are obviously the primary targets of an invading force. Luckily for the planet, most of its urban population is located on the same side that Altor base covers, so the enemy would be most tempted to attack that side."

"That sounds a bit cruel though," Marcus stated, sounding a little uneasy, "If the people living on the other side are attacked, won't they be wiped out without much protection?"

"Of course not," Coby said with a laugh, "The other side of the planet has two major advantages. First off, it's mainly composed of ocean, farmland, forests, and a couple of mountain ranges. The enemy would have a difficult time finding any significant civilian targets to attack besides industrial centers, but those would already be evacuated in time since they're much smaller than the larger cities Altor Base hovers over. Secondly, and more importantly, that side of the planet is where a lot of Corneria's military bases are stationed, so once again, the invading force would be heading right into a firing line."

"They could also be easily outflanked," Leon added, "The ships stationed at Altor base could quickly circle around the planet and attack the invaders from behind. If the enemy attacked from the other side of the planet, they would be stuck in a death trap."

"Oh, I get it," Marcus said with a smile, "So attacking the base itself would probably be a smarter move then."

"That's right," Coby replied, "The enemy would gain little from striking the other side of the planet, so the urban areas and the station itself would be their primary targets."

Marcus quite smiling and looked at Coby again.

"What about the base itself?" Marcus asked, "You said it had anti-aircraft turrets and shields. Is that all it has in terms of defense?"

"There's actually a new feature that's been added to the station," Coby answered, "Along with the anti-aircraft turrets, ten HPCs were built into the station."

"HPCs?" Marcus asked as he tilted his head.

"Heavy Plasma Cannons," Coby answered, and then he smiled with pride and added, "They're a new addition to the Lylat Federal Military. Long-ranged cannons capable of destroying small or medium first-class ships such as cruisers, destroyers, carriers, or battleships. Even a larger class ship would receive significant damage from one of the cannons. Needless to say, they're the most powerful weapons onboard the station. In fact, they're probably some of the most powerful weapons in the entire military."

Marcus looked at Coby in shock, and the raccoon chuckled and nodded.

"Like I said, this base is pretty powerful."

"That's amazing!" Marcus said with a large smile, "You're saying it could take out a ship like the Great Fox in one shot?"

"Easily," Coby answered, "The shields and armor would provide about enough protection that tinfoil would provide against a laser blast. Our ship would be blown to pieces."

Marcus laughed and clapped his hands together.

"That's so cool!" Marcus said with glee, "I really wanna see these things!"

"There is one downside to the cannons however," Leon cut-in, "They take about a full minute to reload with each shot. Plus, if the enemy gets too close, it'll be impossible to use them without damaging the station and friendly ships."

"Yeah, but even if only half the shots his their targets, that's still five enemy ships demolished or critically damaged." Coby added, and Leon nodded in agreement.

The entire time Coby was talking, Falco had been listening in silence while he sat in the Captain's chair. He was glad to see that the raccoon was knowledgeable about the military. Marcus's ignorance did make for an annoyance, but Falco never really expected much from the vulpine anyway when it came to technical facts. He understood those weren't his strong points.

"Attention all pilots," R.O.B called out over the intercom, "The Great Fox will be arriving at destination Altor Base in two minutes. Please prepare for docking procedures."

"Two minutes?" Marcus said with an excited voice, "That means we should be able to see it by now!"

Marcus and the rest of the pilots got up from their seats and walked over to the viewport. When they looked through the glass, a large space station sat a short distance away from their ship. Each of the rookies exasperated with awe.

To say the station is ginormous would be an understatement. It spread out in every direction over a large area, with many ships either docked in or right next to it. The station didn't have an actual shape. The center of it was spherical, with many metal tubes sprawling out in several directions. Each tube had several metal boxes connected to them, which were connected with other tubes and boxes. The entire system was interlocked, and ships were coming and going from each box.

"It's huge!" Marcus exclaimed, "I wasn't expecting it to look like this!"

"Those tubes you see are how people move through the station," Falco pointed out, "The boxes are either docking bays, refueling stations, or storage units."

As the ship got closer, each of the pilots looked more closely at the station. Its details were clearer now, and they could see the anti-aircraft turrets spread out all over the station.

"Where are the artillery canons?" Marcus asked.

"There's a couple right there," Falco said as he pointed to a specific location.

Marcus looked over to where Falco was pointing. Two large green tubes were connected to a much larger shaped rectangular prism that stuck right next to the center sphere. Marcus gawped at the size of the cannons barrels.

"Those things are longer than the Great Fox!" Marcus said with a large smile.

"They're powered by the center sphere of the station," Falco commented, "its main purpose is to fuel the cannons."

Leon looked outside of the viewport towards his left and right, and noticed several other ships coming in for landing.

"I can see other cruisers coming in," Leon said.

"Looks like the other captains have arrived as well," Falco said, "I wonder if Davian's a part of the group."

The Great Fox slowed down as it approached on of the box hangers. The ship slowly entered and docked with the station, parking next to another cruiser.

"Landing commenced," R.O.B said, "Welcome to Altor Base."

"Well, that didn't take very long," Leon said with a smile as he and Falco began walking out of the bridge.

"Guys, can we _please_ come?" Marcus asked with a begging voice.

"Sorry Marcus, but you'll just have to wait this one out." Falco said as he walked away.

"We'll be back before you know it," Leon called out, and then he and Falco left the room.

Marcus grumbled and sat down in the chair, crossing both of his arms with a sulking look on his face.

"Oh man, please don't be pouty while they're gone," Coby said with a tired voice as he sat down, "That'll just make the waiting worse."

"I don't understand why they can't just let us board!" Marcus whined, "We're a part of the military, right? This shouldn't be a problem for us!"

"We'll just have to endure it for now," Coby said as he tilted his hat over his face and put both of his arms behind his head, "I'm going to sleep."

Marcus sighed and got up from his chair. He began walking out of the room until Coby called out to him.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm gonna go draw something," Marcus answered.

Marcus left the room, and Coby tilted his hat back down. Just before he entered his room, Marcus got a call on his watch. The caller ID read unknown.

"Well, that's a bit strange," Marcus said as he pressed the answer button, and then he asked, "Hello? This is Private Marcus McCloud. Who is this?"

There was no answer.

"Hello? Anybody there?"

A soft chuckle could be heard from the other line.

"You sound a lot like your father," the stranger said with a pleased tone.

One of Marcus's eyebrows rose.

"Look buddy, I'd like to chat, but this is kind of…well, a restricted military line. You're not allowed to call this number unless you're in my contacts."

"Yes, of course it is," the voice answered, sounding amused, "I have a knack for getting around those."

"Oh, so you're a hacker?" Marcus asked curiously. He didn't even sound a little concerned.

"No, but I have friends who are," the stranger answered.

"Well, friends can be pretty helpful," Marcus said with a smile, "Anyway, you said I sound like my Dad. Do you know him?"

The other voice didn't respond.

"Helloooo? Stranger guy? Are you there?"

"You do realize I'm breaking the law by calling you like this, right?" the stranger said, sounding a little bit frustrated, "Could you this situation a little bit more seriously?"

"Okay," Marcus said casually, "Is there something you want?"

"What the…when I say take the situation more seriously, don't sound so casual you stupid bastard!" The stranger yelled.

"Well, how do you want me to sound!?" Marcus yelled back.

The stranger let out a tired sigh.

"Never mind, just listen to me for a second, okay?"

"Okay," Marcus replied, sounding impatient.

"Now, I'm going to offer you a little proposition," the stranger said with a secretive voice, "If you don't take it, that's fine. But if you do take it, you'll be going against your governments protocols, which means you'll breaking the law."

"What's the proposition?" Marcus asked.

"It goes like this," the stranger continued, "I will guide you through Altor Base by giving you directions through your watch. I will lead you to me, and then we can have a little chat. Of course, you don't have to accept it, but I'd suggest you'd-

"Okay," Marcus interrupted.

The other voice was silent again.

"Wait, what?" the stranger asked.

"Okay, I'll do it!" Marcus said with a smile, "When do we start?"

"Are you freaking kidding me?" the stranger said, "That easily!?"

Marcus let out a tired sigh,

"I'm bored," Marcus said, "There's nothing to do on this ship, and I have to wait for Falco and Leon anyway."

"Let me get this straight," the stranger said with a baffled tone, "You're agreeing to my plan…going up against military protocol…because you're bored!?"

"Yep!" Marcus answered.

The other voice was silent again, and then it burst out with laughter.

"You really _are_ just like your father!" the stranger said, "I like that about you kid. Now listen to me closely, okay?"

"Go ahead," Marcus said.

"Head to the hanger where the ship exit is, and I'll guide you from there."

"Okay, but can I have your name first?" Marcus asked.

The voice let out a small laugh.

"You'll know who I am when you see me," the stranger said, "Just trust me for now, okay?"

"Alright," Marcus said as he began running down the corridor towards the hanger.

"Are you at the hanger yet?" the stranger asked.

"Of course not, give me some time," Marcus said with aggravation, "I just started running there."

"Just hurry up," the stranger said, sounding impatient, "I don't have all day."

Marcus ignored the remark and continued running. When he reached the hanger, he pressed the green button on the wall, but nothing happened.

"Uh oh," Marcus said.

"What now?" the stranger asked, sounding stressed.

"The door's locked," Marcus said, "R.O.B must have auto-locked it himself, so I can't open it without his permission."

"You mean that tin-can is keeping you from leaving?"

"Yeah," Marcus answered, and then he added with a curious tone, "Wait a minute, you know R.O.B?"

"Long story," the stranger said, "And luckily, I know how you can bypass his protocol."

"You do?" Marcus asked, sounding surprised, "Wait, what does that mean?"

"It means you can give him a code that'll make him follow your orders. Even if he's been ordered by Falco to leave it closed, you can still get him to open it."

"Okay, what's the code?" Marcus asked.

"Alpha Fire Wall," the stranger answered.

Marcus nodded, and then he switched over to another line and called R.O.B.

"Private Marcus, do you need something?" R.O.B asked.

"I do R.O.B," Marcus said, "I need you to open the landing platform."

"I am sorry sir," R.O.B answered, "But I have been given strict orders from Captain Falco. I'm to leave the door shut until he and Sergeant Leon-

"Alpha Fire Wall," Marcus interrupted.

There was silence for a couple of seconds, and then R.O.B finally said,

"Understood sir, lowering the platform,"

The platform door on the hanger began to lower, and Marcus smiled as he switched his com-link back to the stranger.

"Ok, I got it!" Marcus said excitedly.

"Yes, I see the door lowering from here." the stranger answered.

"Wait, you're in the station?"

"I've hacked into the camera network. I can view Altor Base from the inside."

"I don't know who your hacker is, but he's a genius if he can get through security that easily," Marcus said as he stepped down the platform, "Where do I go now?"

"Head to the door on the left."

"My left or you're left?" Marcus asked.

"You're left you idiot!" the stranger yelled, "Why would it be my left? You can't even see where I am!"

"Well jeez, you don't have to be rude," Marcus said as he began heading to the door on his left.

"Oh for the love of…you're such a dumbass!" the stranger yelled with a frustrated tone, "Just figure it out on your own next time."

Marcus reached the door, but it required a five-number PIN in order to be opened.

"It's 43825," the stranger said before Marcus even asked.

Marcus nodded to himself and pressed in the code. The door opened, and he slowly stepped into a metal hallway, looking both ways to make sure no one else was coming.

"There's no one there," the stranger said as Marcus was still looking, "I'll warn you if anybody's coming."

"What about cameras?" Marcus asked.

"Already taken care of," the stranger answered, "I'll set the cameras in each room you enter on a repeating clip, so you'll be invisible to them. Now head down to the door at the end of the hallway on your right, but this time don't enter into the next room until I tell you to. Since you're getting farther in, the securities gonna get even tighter. The next room is a circular hallway, and a patrol walks through that area. I'll give you the signal for when it's clear."

Marcus laughed to himself.

"This is getting kind of fun!" he said with glee as he began running down the hallway, "Which way will I be going?"

"You'll head down the pathway on you're right when you enter,"

Marcus reached the door and stopped, waiting for the stranger's signal.

"Stay low to the ground when you enter, and don't run," the stranger said with a more cautious tone.

Marcus nodded and waited a couple of more seconds.

"Ok, go!"

Marcus pressed the green button next to the door and it slid open. He silently, but quickly walked into the room, staying as low as he could. The door closed behind him, and he began walking down the right pathway.

"Where am I going?" Marcus whispered as he snuck through the hallway.

"The first door on you're right," the stranger whispered back, "It has an auto-lock system that requires an officer's key-card."

"What!?" Marcus whispered loudly, and with a small hint of panic, "Then how the heck am I supposed to get through?"

"If you'll wait two seconds, I'll explain!" the stranger hissed back, "I'll unlock it myself, so don't worry. Just press the green button above the card panel when I tell you to."

Marcus let out a small sigh of relief. As he walked, a door came into view on the wall on his right, and he quickly walked over to it. His eyes widened and he looked to his left as he sensed somebody coming.

"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up, he's coming!" Marcus whispered with a desperate voice.

"Yes, I know that!" the stranger hissed, "Just a few more seconds…there, I've got it!"

Marcus quickly pressed the green button. To his horror, a robotic female voice said "Access Denied", and the door remained closed.

"Um, uh, it's not working!" Marcus whispered in panic as he pressed the button again, getting the same message.

"What!?" the stranger said with surprise and frustration, "Press it again!"

"I already did!" Marcus yelled, and he began rapidly pressing the button, and the female robotic voice started spamming out the letter a.

"Wait, no, kid, stop pressing the button!" the stranger yelled, but Marcus didn't hear him, "Stop it! I won't be able to unlock the door if you keep-

"What are you doing here!?" another voice yelled, followed by the sound of a blaster being cocked.

Marcus's eyes widened, and he froze.

"Oh, damn it…" the stranger said.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Unexpected Shock

Falco and Leon walked casually down one of the metal hallways. All around them, other officers paced to and fro through the doors. Some spoke to the patrolmen, asking for directions, while others conveyed with fellow officers who had also been invited.

Something intrigued Falco, and he noticed that all the captains shared something in common. High reputation. Each captain was either a hard-bitten veteran with loads of experience or an elite rookie with loads of ambition. All of them were known for having marvelous records.

"Got a lot of famous names floating around here," Falco said.

"I was gonna say the same thing," Leon muttered as he glanced over to another pair of officers, "Each captain here is a walking legend."

"Even the ones working outside the system have been called back. This must be serious if the Fleet Admiral thinks their presence is required as well."

Leon looked over at Falco with a questioning gaze. It wasn't necessarily a surprised one, but it was filled with curiosity.

"So it's true then?" Leon asked, "We really do have people outside of the Lylat System?"

"Of course, but only the best of the best can survive out there. It's a mysterious and unchartered place, filled with all sorts of new opportunities and new dangers. Most people are reluctant to go because of the latter thing."

"I'm surprised you're not out there. Well, I'm not saying you're a coward, but-

"I understand what you mean," Falco chuckled, "Star Fox has already gone out there a few times."

Leon stopped walking and looked at Falco with surprise. The avian laughed.

"Don't tell me that surprises you!" Falco bellowed, "Do you really think it would be possible that we _wouldn't_ go out there?"

Leon fumbled with his words.

"Well…no it…it just-

"We were only able to do it during peace time though," Falco interrupted as he continued walking, "We didn't do it for very long either, since Fox wanted to retire with Krystal, and Slippy wanted to go live with Amanda. Although I don't blame them for settling down after a hard-fought war, I really wish we could've stayed out longer."

Falco and Leon finally reached the meeting room. It was a large, open space auditorium with rows of chairs stacked one after another, facing the podium where both officers assumed the Fleet Admiral would be talking from. They took their seats, and Leon continued the conversation.

"Did you ever go out by yourself?"

Falco laughed and shook his head.

"Are you kidding? I might have been crazier when I was younger, but I was never insane. Only a complete mad man would venture out there alone."

"Why?" Leon asked, getting more curious, "What was it like?"

"It was…different," Falco hesitated, "Only a few planets have been charted out there."

"Which ones?"

Falco tilted his head back, trying to regain his memory.

"Golbekia, Leo, and Lupinia," Falco listed, "There may be others, but those are the only ones I've been to."

"Lupinia?" Leon raised an eyebrow, "That sounds like lupine."

"Well, that's probably because it's your races home planet,"

Leon look surprised at first, but then he noticed something else.

"So that's why there aren't very many lupines," Leon put a hand underneath his chin, "And that's also why the books I read had very little information on their race as a whole."

"Exactly. The Lylat System has been pretty harsh on them in the past. When we sent ambassadors to their planet for negotiation, they were utterly rejected and warned never to come back. Although to be honest, I'm surprised none of them were killed."

"Then, why are there any lupines in the system?"

"As far as I know, the ones that come to our system call themselves forerunners," Falco scratched the back of his head, "They're basically like pioneers or explorers. Most of them have settled down in our system, and a few have even married with Lylats and started families together."

"Was my father born there?"

"I'm not sure. He's been on Corneria since I've known him, but he might have left his own planet when he was younger."

"Are you saying my father is a forerunner?"

"Like I said, I don't really know,"

There was silence again. Curious thoughts entered Leon's mind.

"What was Lupinia like?"

Falco was hesitant to answer. He looked at the ground, almost as if he was too ashamed, but Leon had a feeling it was something else.

"I'd never seen anything like it before," Falco muttered with a sense of awe and fear, "The closest planet I could compare it to would be Venom, although maybe not as uninhabitable. It was composed of black forests, snowy mountains, and yellow plains. Lakes are spread out all over the planet, but there are no large oceans like there are on most Lylat planets."

Falco's description confused Leon.

"That's doesn't sound bad at all," Leon huffed, "Why would you compare it to Venom? Venom is a living death trap. People get sent there as punishment, but Lupinia sounds pretty-

"It's not," Falco glared at Leon, "First off, it's nearly impossible to fly there. Large electric waves in the planet's atmosphere constantly distribute navigational equipment and tracking devices, so the pilot has to rely entirely on his eyesight. It's one of the biggest reasons people are so reluctant to fly there. The planet is also plagued with all sorts of diseases that the lupines have grown immune to, but a foreigner needs to be heavily vaccinated beforehand. But the diseases aren't even the worst part. The planet is also plagued with dangerous creatures."

"What kinds?"

"Kinds never seen before in the Lylat System. Based on what we gathered, there are all sorts of large, mutated insects and arachnids on the planet."

Leon felt his skin crawl. Arachnids, especially spiders, were things he hated and feared at the bottom of his heart. His brother and Coby knew about his fear, and they constantly played pranks on him by placing rubber spiders on his chest and head while he slept, but the pranksters usually ended up with broken noses after doing so. The idea that there were larger versions of those on his race's home planet sounded more terrifying to Leon than any pirate fleet.

Falco took notice of Leon's sudden grimace, and he smiled amusedly.

"Oh please. Don't tell me you still have that phobia of yours."

"It's not a phobia," Leon countered as he shook out his arms, "there's nothing irrational or unreasonable about hating spiders. They're nasty."

Falco shook his head and chuckled. Leon was undoubtedly the best fighter in the group, yet here he was shaking out his body due to a fear of spiders.

"Anyway," Leon regained his focus, "How are the creatures dangerous? Big bugs sound disgusting, but I can't imagine them being very harmful."

"Most of them let us be if we didn't mess with them, but others weren't so passive. When we landed for our ground exploration, Me, Krystal and Fox went on foot while Slippy decided to bring along one of the Land Masters. We told Slippy bringing the tank would be over-kill, but he insisted in case we ran into something really dangerous. We laughed at him then, but Slippy's decision ended up saving our lives."

"How?"

"While we were in one of the plain fields, a large herd of rhino beetles, the size of the Land Master came charging at us from the forest. The three of us outside the tank used our blasters against them, but they were completely ineffective."

"You're kidding! They were the size of the Land Master?"

"Maybe a little bigger, actually. Their exoskeletons were extremely thick and tough. Even fully charged laser blasts barely penetrated their hides or slowed them down. Luckily, the plasma cannon on Slippy's tank had no problem taking each of them out with one shot, but there were way too many to handle. When we saw how desperate the situation was, we all hoped on the Land Master and Slippy made a bee-line for the Arwings."

"And that's how you guys escaped?"

Falco shook his head.

"The Land Master wasn't fast enough to outrun the rhino beetles. Slippy managed to take out seven of them, but there must have been thirteen left when they got too close for the tank to fire. We saw the size and strength of the creatures and we knew they would have no problem tearing the Land Master to pieces. We thought it was all over, until our unexpected saviors arrived at the scene."

"Saviors?"

"The lupines," Falco smiled at Leon with pride, "If there's one thing I can tell you about your people, it's that they're tough as hell. A group of brown-furred lupines attacked the herd from every side. They had their own primitive, yet very effective weapons that they used on the creatures. Old wooden and metal rifles with armor piercing bullets, along with some bows and crossbows that fired arrows at the creature's soft spots. But the most shocking thing that I saw was when one of them singlehandedly wrestled a rhino beetle to the ground and then finished it off with his knife."

Leon starred at Falco with a dumbfounded expression, and the avian let out a laugh.

"From that day on, I knew if I were to choose between a pack of lupines or a Land Master, I'd go with the lupines without a second thought."

"But why did they let you go? I thought you said they were hostile to any outsiders."

"Oh, I never said they gave us a warm welcome. In fact, they were pretty pissed at us. They held us at gunpoint, and even with the Land Master on our side, none of us had any thoughts about fighting them. The leader of the pack approached us, and I recognized him as the same one who wrestled the rhino beetle to the ground. At first, we thought he would just kill us all himself, but instead he just asked us who are names were, where we were from, and why we were on their planet. Fox answered the last one, saying they were just exploring, and the leader smiled with amusement and said, 'Well, now you can see why that's a terrible idea for you outsiders. Board whatever ship you came to this planet on and leave immediately. If you come back again, we will slaughter you all without a second thought.'"

"And Fox listened," Leon stated, already knowing the outcome.

"He did," Falco sighed, "He thanked the leader and promised they would never come back, offering his hand for a handshake. I was going to break that idiots hand for making a gesture that the lupine could take as an insult, but to everyone's shock except Fox's, he actually shook it. He and his pack left after that, and we never saw them again."

Leon thought about Falco's story. A strong desire to see his home planet began building up inside Leon, even if it did involve big spiders. He wanted to see what his people were like with his own eyes.

"What about the other two planets?" Leon changed the topic, "what were they-

Leon stopped talking. He turned around in his chair and looked around, feeling anxious from the sudden emotions he was sensing from his brother.

For some reason, Marcus was beginning to panic.

"What is it?" Falco looked back to where Leon was looking.

"It's Marcus," Leon sounded worried, "He's…panicking for some reason."

"Ah, well if that's all it is," Falco smiled as he turned around again, "He's probably just afraid that he won't be able to see the inside of Altor Base."

Leon slowly nodded and sat back down in his chair.

"Yeah," he said nervously, "Yeah, I'm sure you're right."

At another portion of Altor Base, Marcus was currently frozen with his hand on the key-pad of one of the doors. On his left, the patrolman was aiming his gun at the vulpine.

"Turn around!" the guard barked.

Marcus obeyed and slowly turned his body to face the guard. He was wearing a white titanium suit of armor with black boots, along with a white helmet that covered his entire head. The helmets black visor gave the soldier an even more menacing look. Judging by the guard's size, voice, and helmet shape, he assumed he was a canine.

"This is a restricted area," the guard said with a more quite, yet just as stern voice, "Why are you here?"

Marcus tried desperately to come up with an excuse.

"Oh, well I was just…um… was invited to the meeting, but I think I got lost," Marcus said with a cracking voice.

Not to his surprise, the guard wasn't buying it.

"Every officer on this station was given strict directions to the meeting room," the guard said with a doubtful voice.

"I-I just have bad direction!" Marcus said with a small laugh, "I suffer from a severe, uh, orientation disorder!"

"What's you're rank?" the guard asked with an impatient voice, "Show me your Military ID."

The stranger on Marcus's com-line spoke.

"That's not gonna work you idiot!" he whispered loudly, "As soon as he sees you're ID, he'll know you're trespassing. Think of something else, fast!"

While the stranger was trying to keep his voice quite, the guard heard it anyway and stepped closer to Marcus.

"Who's that on the line?" the guard asked as he pointed his gun more directly at Marcus, "Who are you talking to?"

Marcus felt his heart sink.

" _Oh no, this is it,"_ he thought to himself, _"Not only will I be charged for trespassing on military property, but I'll also be accused of using my cellular watch to speak to an unknown party! I'll be lucky if I get sent to prison for life."_

"Let me see you're ID and you're watch," the guard demanded, "After that, you're coming with me."

" _Think Marcus, think! What can you do? What would Falco do? What would Dad do!? What would Mom-_

All of a sudden, something came to Marcus's mind and he stopped panicking. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He put his left index and middle finger on his forehead as he held out his right hand.

"C'mon already!" the guard said as he set his weapon to stun, "You have five seconds before I-

"You do not need to do that," Marcus said as he continued to hold out his hand and close his eyes.

The guard didn't reply. At first, Marcus didn't know if it had worked, but then the guard slowly pointed his weapon away and said,

"I…I don't need to do that,"

Marcus smiled and felt an overwhelming sense of relief.

"Kid, what's going on?" the stranger on the com-line asked, "What are you-

"Not now!" Marcus hissed, not wanting to break his concentration, "Now, patrolman, I'm you're general. I've forgotten my keycard, so I need you to unlock this door for me."

The patrolman slowly nodded like a drunken man.

"Yes general, as you wish," the guard said as he pulled out his keycard and walked over to the door, unlocking it.

"Good man," Marcus said, "Now, for my final order, I need you to forget about this entire situation and continue with your work, understood?"

"Of…of course sir," the guard said as he gave an awkward salute and continued patrolling the hallway.

Marcus opened his eyes and gave a humongous sigh of relief. He opened the door and walked into the next room.

"Did it work?" the stranger cautiously asked.

"Yeah it did," Marcus said as he walked into the next room, "Now, where do I go from…ah…"

Marcus closed his eyes and put his hand on his forehead. He leaned his back against the wall right next to the door and slowly slid down it until he was sitting down.

"What's the matter?" the stranger asked, "I can see you from the camera in this room. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, it's just…I got a big headache all of a sudden," Marcus said as he held his head with both of his hands.

"What you just did there…that was your mother's power, wasn't it?"

"I've been practicing it over the last couple of weeks with Leon," Marcus said, "I just…I haven't got used to it yet. Just give me a minute."

There was silence as Marcus looked at the room he was in. Judging by the way the chairs and tables were set up, Marcus assumed it was a mess-hall. He sighed and bent his head down.

What he just did was too dangerous. He wasn't ready to use his powers to create illusions in people's minds yet, but he had no other choice. At least he knew it would be easier next time.

"Well, are you ready?" the stranger asked impatiently.

"Just a few more minutes," Marcus asked.

The stranger gave a frustrated grunt.

"We don't have that much time," he said impatiently, "Now stop being a baby and just get up already."

"I know," Marcus said as he slowly stood up, "Where do I go?

"You have a few more rooms to pass through. A couple of patrols in each one, but this time I should be able to get the doors unlocked. However, the third room will be tricky."

"Why is that?" Marcus asked more clearly as he felt his headache go away, "What's in there?"

"You'll see when you arrive," the stranger answered, "For now, just make it through the other to hallways. The next door is on the far end, but wait like you did last time."

"Alright," Marcus said as he began running over to the door.

The next two rooms where much easier than the circular hallway. They were both mapping and control rooms, so there were plenty of computers and data-storage units Marcus could hide behind to get to the door. He would simply wait for the guards to pass by before entering the room without needing their keycards.

"You know, this would have been easier if you just got the first door," Marcus whispered sarcastically as he entered into the second room and hid behind a storage unit.

"You're the one who agreed to my plan in the first place, jackass!" the stranger hissed, "Did you really think this would be a walk in the park? Of course there will be glitches!"

Marcus smiled and chuckled.

"You know, I actually like a challenge," he whispered as he peaked around the corner and saw a guard passing by, "Makes it more fun!"

"Well good, because this next room will be more than a challenge," the stranger answered, "When you enter, don't take a single step forward. If you do, you'll be caught."

Marcus quickly and quietly walked over to the door, crouching as low as possible. When he entered the next room, he gawped at its interior.

The room was one of Altor Base's many hangers. There were fighters hanging from ceiling wires, along with small cruise ships and transports placed out all across the open space of the floor. There were pilots, officers, and guards walking all across the room. Marcus looked up and saw a large glass screen, and he assumed the hanger overseer and managers were behind it.

"Well, you weren't joking when you said this room would be a challenge," Marcus whispered as he looked around, "there's no way I'll be able to pass through all of this security."

The stranger gave a large huff.

"I thought you said you _wanted_ a challenge," he scoffed, "Are you gonna give up now?"

"Hey, I meant there's no way I can do it like I did the other rooms," Marcus countered with a smile, "there's too much open space here. I won't be able to hide and sneak around."

"Great observation genius. You're next and final destination is the transport hanging from the ceiling. There's only one hanging, so you should be able to see it."

"Yeah, I see it," Marcus immediately said as he looked up to the ceiling, "Any ideas on how to get to it?"

"No,"

Marcus looked down at his cellular watch with confusion."

"No?" he said as he tilted his head.

"The overseer has an outlook on this entire room. You won't be able to get across any of it without him seeing you."

Marcus gave a frustrated sigh.

"Well, guess I'll just have to find a place where he can't see me,"

"Exactly, but that's where the main problem lies. Do you know if there's any part of this room where the overseer isn't looking?"

Marcus looked around. The screen pretty much had a view over everything in the room. At first, Marcus was thinking about giving up, but then he looked up and got a crazy idea. The vulpine gave a mischievous smile.

"He's not looking up," Marcus said as he turned around and looked at the wall, "I'll just have to climb there."

"What?" the stranger said as if he couldn't believe what he just heard, "You can't climb here! Even if you climb the wall, how will you get all the way over to the-

"I'll use the chains that are holding up the fighters," Marcus said as he began climbing the small little metal protrusions on the hanger wall, "I'll jump from each one until I get to the one holding up the transport, then I'll slide down."

The stranger was silent for a few seconds, but then he let out a small, half-menacing laugh.

"As crazy as that sounds, it might actually work," he said in agreement, "Make sure you don't swing the chains when you jump, otherwise you'll move the fighters. If even one of them bumps into another, the alarms will go off and it will all be over."

Marcus got high enough up the wall until he was at level with the top of the chains. He took a deep breath and then jumped as hard as he could to the first chain. In one motion, his hands grabbed onto the chain halfway down the top and his legs wrapped around it. The fighter slowly inched closely to the one next to it. Marcus tightly closed his eyes, praying the fighters wouldn't bump into each other. His prayer was answered, and the fighter slowly crept backwards. Marcus was sweating badly, and he let out a large sigh of relief. The stranger hissed violently at him.

"Son of a bitch, do it softer next time! You were literally a centimeter away from being caught!"

"I had to put more strength into it since it was farther away!" Marcus countered, "I won't have to do it with the others since they're closer now."

"You better," the stranger said sternly, "I didn't guide you all this way so you could just fail now."

Marcus let out a small laugh that was filled with both caution and confidence.

"I'm not gonna fail,"

The vulpine began jumping from chain to chain. He couldn't swing the chains to give himself momentum, so he had to use his own strength alone to get across each one. It wasn't too difficult, but the stranger kept commenting on each jump.

"Softer, it tilted a little," he said on the fifth fighter.

Marcus rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I know that. I'm not intentionally moving them."

"I don't care if it's intentional or not. Don't do it!"

"Whatever," Marcus said as he took a deep breath and looked at the next chain.

There were only to two fighters left, and then he would be at the transport. His arms where getting a bit tired now, but he knew he couldn't give up. With one last breath, Marcus jumped over to the next chain. The fighter tilted like the last one.

"Didn't I say be softer with it!?" the stranger hissed.

Marcus had finally had it with him.

"Okay, look buddy," Marcus said with a sarcastic voice, "I _really_ appreciate the useless commentary, but I think it would be better if you didn't open you're fat mouth every single time I jumped, so could you please be quite for these last two jumps?"

The stranger didn't respond at first, and he only gave a small huff.

"You're sassier than I thought you would be," he said with a low voice, "Fine, I won't talk from now on, happy?"

"Yes, thank you," Marcus said sincerely.

The vulpine jumped to the next fighter, and then he eyed the last chain. Since the transport needed extra space, this one was much farther away than the fighters. Marcus closed his eyes for a few moments, and then he opened them again with a smile and said,

"Well, here goes nothing,"

Marcus jumped with all of his might to the last chain. He barely made it, getting only one of his hands on at the very bottom of the chain right before he hit the top of the transport. He slowly slid down the last two feet and was atop the transport. The vulpine gave a laugh as he rested on his hands and knees.

"Okay, I made it," Marcus said as he gasped for air.

"Yes, congratulations," the stranger said with an unimpressed voice, "I'm opening the side door. You'll have to slide in from there."

Marcus heard a door open on his left. He crawled over to the side of the transport and looked down. He had to lean his head over to see the door, and he saw it a few more feet to his left. He crawled over until the door was right underneath him, and then he slowly lowered himself down. When he was hanging from his arms, he swung himself twice before he flung his whole body into the transport. He landed on his feet and stood up, stretching his back.

"Head to the bridge, you'll find me there," the stranger said before hanging up.

Marcus did as he was told and walked down the transport. He would've ran, but he wanted to rest his arms and legs. The transport wasn't very large, and he was already at the bridge in about twenty seconds.

"It's me," Marcus said as he knocked on the door, "You can open up."

The door opened and closed when Marcus walked. Sitting down at the other side of the bridge across from him was a robed figure with a black hood over his head. In front of him was the bridge viewport, which had several computerized screens projected onto it. Marcus assumed those were the cameras the stranger used while he guided Marcus. The screens disappeared from the viewport, but the stranger didn't turn around. Instead, he just gave a low-menacing laugh.

"Didn't think you would make it for a second there. I'm glad you're as skilled as I originally thought you would be."

Marcus crossed his arms and frowned.

"What's with the secret undertone?" Marcus asked as he took a couple of steps forward, "You're acting really-

Marcus stopped talking as a strangely familiar scent engulfed his nose. He smelled the air a couple of times, and his eyes widened a little out of surprise. Something about the stranger's scent that felt uncomfortable, as if it were _too_ familiar. No, it wasn't just familiar. He had picked the smell eight years ago, and he smelt it almost every single day from that point onwards.

"You're…you're scent," Marcus said a bit suspiciously as his eyes narrowed, "Why do you smell like Leon?"

The stranger turned his head to the side, but Marcus still couldn't see his face. The stranger moved one of his hands up onto the dashboard, and that's when Marcus got a first glance at his actual body. His fur was grey, and he had thick, blunt claws, identical to those of a lupine.

"Oh, so he smells like me does he?" the stranger said with an amused, yet slightly disappointed voice, "That's a shame. I was hoping he would smell more like his mother."

Marcus narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"His mother?" Marcus said as he tilted his head, "Wait a minute, do you know something about Leon's-

Marcus stopped talking. As he slowly began to connect the dots, a faint chill ran down his spine. His eyes became as wide as dinner plates, and he felt a swarm of butterfly's invade his stomach. Marcus doubted his own reason at first. He refused to believe the logic of the situation. He didn't want to believe it was _him_ of all people.

The stranger turned around in his chair and stood up. He was a full six inches taller than Marcus, perhaps even a little taller than that. Without any ceremony, without any more pointless rambling, the stranger pulled back his hood.

If the patrolman hadn't fully frozen Marcus's body before, this man's face certainly did. He had one dark grey eye that was filled with blazing fire. Over his left eye was a blue, electronic bifocal, with a long scar running down the skin underneath. His face was badly scared from years and years of combat. The size of his lupine fangs was fully shown as he smiled menacingly at Marcus. The blue-furred vulpine felt weak at his knees.

"You're…" Marcus stuttered, "You're…!"

"It's about time we finally meet each other," the lupine said with a darkly amused voice, "Son of Fox McCloud."

With that, Wolf O'Donnell let out a large laugh.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30: War in the Outskirts

"All captains, please report to the Central Room with your first officer," a voice boomed over the intercom, "the meeting will begin in two minutes."

"Guess that's the que," Leon said as he sat up straight in his chair, "About time too. I thought this was supposed to start twenty minutes ago."

"People were probably coming in late," Falco said, "We were already on Corneria, but most of the captains are from around the system."

Leon heard the doors to the room open, and he turned around to see who was coming in. Each captain had his own desk with two seats: one for himself and one for his first officer. There were too many heads to count, but out of the whole crowd, Leon could see three vulpines, two avians, four canines, and a few other races he could not quite identify. Leon was pleasantly surprised when he saw Davian and Dash walk in and sit at the opposite side of the room. He smiled and tried waving at them, but he had to make it a small gesture so he wouldn't embarrass Falco in front of all the other captains. Davian smiled back, and Dash gave him an acknowledging nod.

"This is quite a meeting," a deep voice said, "Tarandro must have something pretty important to say if he got this many power houses in one room."

Leon looked to his left, and his eyes and mouth widened a little when he saw who had spoken. It was a large grizzly bear, whose head towered above all the other captains. Leon guessed the bear might be six inches taller than he was when they both stood up. He had a dark grey and brown uniform, but the most interesting part about his appearance were his black round sunglasses. A brown furred bulldog sat down right next to him, wearing the badges and uniform of a lieutenant. The bear pulled out a bag of pretzels and began munching on them.

"Want one?" the bear asked as he noticed Leon starring at him, "They're extra salty."

Leon blinked a couple of times and shook his head.

"No thanks, I'm good," Leon looked ahead.

"Suit yourself," the bear looked away as well, "You're one of the super rookies that took down Captain Maine, aren't you?"

Leon looked over to the bear with confusion.

"Super rookie?"

"Of course," the bear replied, "taking down a lion king is an accomplishment worthy of an elite soldier, yet you did it on your first mission."

Leon smiled a little and looked away again.

"Well, I had some help," Leon answered, "my brother Marcus wore him down a bit before I fought against him."

"I would expect nothing less from Fox's boy. Take it from me though, even if it took two people to take him down, that is still an incredible achievement. A lion king is a dangerous foe, even if he reduced himself to the mere level of a pirate."

"You know my brother?"

"I know who both of you are," the bear answered as he looked over to Falco, who was not paying attention "Hey, captain. You zoning out again?"

Falco flinched a little and looked over to the bear. He smiled when he recognized his face.

"Ah, Captain Tank!" Falco said exuberantly, "it's been a long time since we met."

Captain Tank nodded without smiling.

"Ten years I do believe. Your feathers looked lighter than last time, old friend. Guess age is starting to finally catch up with you."

"Unfortunately that's true," Falco said with a small laugh, "How has the outside of the Lylat System been treating you?"

"Well, you're about to find out,"

Falco stopped smiling at his words.

"Is that what this meeting is about?" Falco asked.

"That, and I'm sure some other things," Captain Tank answered, "The only thing I know is that some of it has to do with the "outside world" since all of the captains working on the outside were recalled."

Before the two could continue their conversation, a voice boomed over a microphone. Everybody looked up to the metal box were the speaker stood. Falco recognized the figure and voice as Admiral Perry, and every officer in the room became quite as soon as he spoke.

"The meeting will now commence," Perry said as he cleared his throat, "I now give the floor to Fleet Admiral Tarandro."

Perry stepped away from the mic and sat down on one of the chairs in the box. When he sat, another man took his place at the mic, and every officer in the room stood up and saluted him. He was white-furred with brown spots, and had large antlers sticking out of his head. He was tall as well, reaching Leon's own height without the antlers. The stature and elegance of his figure reminded Leon of some mythical creature from a storybook his mother used to read to him and Marcus when they were just boys. Like bears and lions, reindeer were rare to find in the Lylat System. Judging by the man's stature, Leon thought the entire station would shake when the Fleet Admiral spoke, but instead he spoke softly and wore a kind smile.

"Gentlemen, please sit down," the Fleet Admiral said, and the officers obeyed, "First off, I would like to thank all of you for coming here today. I know many of you had to travel very far distances in order to arrive, and I apologize for making this meeting on such a short notice."

Leon raised his eyebrows. He did not have a clear idea of how he thought the meeting would begin, but he was not expecting a thank you followed by an apology.

"Let me get straight to the point so I do not further waste any of your time," the Fleet Admiral continued, "You have all been called here today so that we may discuss a series of events that have been occurring across the Lylat System."

Falco leaned forward in his chair and listened more intently. This was exactly what he expected.

"As most of you probably already know, there have been a series of attacks and raids taking place on many of the planets belonging to the Lylat Federation. We have tried our best to keep these sorts of events contained and isolated in the past, but it appears that is getting more and more difficult to do. Our forces handled some of the attacks properly and swiftly, but others were difficult to contain, and even more have yet to be resolved. But that is not the only thing we came to discuss."

The Fleet Admiral cleared his throat, and spoke a little bit more formally.

"According to the information given by our fearless captains working outside the paradise and safety of the Lylat System, the Outskirts have begun turning into a zone of total war. Our government has usually ignored the conflicts of outsiders, but with the current rate of action, it appears that their conflict may very well turn into our own."

The officers in the room looked at the captains who the Fleet Admiral had just spoken of, and they nodded in agreement, confirming the truth of the matter. Some captains gave exasperations of what could be doubt or surprise, and there was a bunch of murmuring amongst them all.

"Shut up, all of you!" Perry suddenly yelled, not even needing the mic, "The Fleet Admiral will explain the situation in more thorough detail."

Every man stopped talking, and Fleet Admiral Tarandro smiled and nodded at Perry.

"Thank you Admiral," he said, "As I was saying, the conflict in the outskirts, which used to be one of mere pirate squabbles and duels between warlords, has turned into full-fledged blazing war. Because the battlegrounds have become so dangerous, our captains, despite their efforts, have had a very difficult time learning anything about the factions currently fighting. However, what we do know is that the factions have become powerful. So powerful, in fact, that they might even pose a threat to our system."

There were a few huffs and some officer's shook their heads. The only ones who nodded in agreement with Perry were the captains outside the system.

"I know it is difficult for some of you to believe such a thing," the Fleet Admiral said with a nod, as if he understood their doubt, "But this is no time for us to underestimate the entities that could threaten our system. We cannot lay back and relax while allowing potential dangers grow and reproduce right outside our borders. We must strike these problems fast and hard."

Falco looked around at the expressions of the other captains. Some were nodding in agreement with the Fleet Admiral, while others were still showing their doubt. He sighed and began to wonder if tensions between the top officers would begin rising within the ranks after this meeting.

"Now, as for your missions, you will all be divided into two groups," Fleet Admiral Tarandro continued, "The first group will be our main force made up of the highest ranking captains here. They will be travelling with Admiral Perry and a few of the Vice Admirals to the outskirts of the Lylat System. The captains who were already out there will resume their initial posts, of course."

"This will not be a search and destroy mission," Admiral Perry called out to his men as he stood up, "It will merely be a show of force. Once the outsiders know what kind of power we have, they'll be much quicker to negotiate with us then fight."

Admiral Perry sat down again, and the Fleet Admiral continued talking.

"As for the rest of you, you will all be given individual missions that involve taking down the troublemakers who are already in the Lylat System. As I said before, some raids and attacks in our system have yet to be successfully resolved. You will be reestablishing the direct peace to our system, while Perry's group will be reaffirming the future peace of it."

Fleet Admiral Tarandro began going over the details of some of the attacks in the system, and Leon leaned over to Falco and whispered into his ear.

"Looks like everything you said was true. Our era of peace really is about to come to an end."

"If it hasn't already," Falco whispered back with a sigh, "Not that any of us didn't see this coming. With people like Captain Maine showing their faces, everybody already knew that the war had begun in a way. The only problem is that we don't know who's fighting who, or who's even fighting at all for that matter."

"Is there something you and your sergeant want to add to the conversation, Captain Falco?" Tarandro suddenly asked, causing Falco and Leon to look over to him.

"No sir, I apologize," Falco replied.

"Then we may proceed," Tarandro said, still with that calm voice, "You will all be given your assignments before you leave. Anyone grouped with Admiral Perry will meet aboard his flagship for further discussion of your mission."

"I've already chosen the captains who will be coming with me," Admiral Perry said as he stood up from his chair and pulled out a sheet of paper, "If your name is called, please stand with your first-officer."

With that, Admiral Perry cleared his throat and started going down the list. Leon could not remember every name, but he did remember the significant ones. First off, there were the captains who had already been outside the system, including Falco's old friend Captain Tank. Perry called Davian's name as well, and the rabbit looked a little bit nervous as he stood up from his chair. Some of the others who were not already outside of the system looked more confident and excited when Perry listed them off.

"When this meeting is over, I want each of you to board your ships and head off for _The First Eclipse_ ," Perry said with a stern voice.

"The hell for?" one of the captains, a koala bear, yelled with an aggravated voice, "Why can't we just have the meeting here? I have already wasted enough time coming to this damn-

"That will do, captain!" Perry yelled, causing the koala to shut up, "You will not question my orders sir. Now then, you may all sit."

The captains and their first officers followed their orders, and Perry sat down after them. Tarandro continued speaking.

"As for everyone who was not called, you will receive your orders when you get back to your ships. Please head to your destinations as soon as you have your mission. We cannot waste any more time dabbling with this meeting. Now, you are all dismissed."

The officers got up from their chairs and began walking out of the room. Leon could tell by their faces that a mood of mixed emotions was dominating the group. Some looked excited and confident; others annoyed, and still more looked afraid. Leon looked over to his own captain's face to see what he was thinking.

Unlike the others, he looked intrigued and curious.

During almost the entire meeting, Coby was sleeping aboard the Great Fox. When he woke up, he tilted his hat up onto his head and yawned. The raccoon checked his watch and realized he had been asleep for nearly two whole hours.

"Sheesh, looks like I slept in," the raccoon said.

Coby got up from his seat and stretched his back. With nothing else to do, he decided to check up on Marcus to see what the vulpine was doing. Knowing Marcus well, Coby went right to the vulpines bedroom to see if he was drawing.

"Hey Marcus, let's play cards," the raccoon said as he knocked on his door, "C'mon, I'll let you win a few games this time, I promise."

Coby waited a few minutes, but there was no answer. Losing his patience, the raccoon decided to open the door and walk in.

"Marcus?" Coby called out, "Are you asleep?"

He lifted up the covers on Marcus's bed, but there was nobody there. With a frustrated sigh, Coby put the bedsheets down and walked out of the room.

"Where'd that vulpine go?" he asked the walls with an annoyed voice.

Coby began searching the rest of the ship for Marcus. He searched the gym, the lounging area, the medical ward, and even the bridge. He stopped when he reached the bridge and decided finally to call the vulpine, but it hung up immediately. He rolled his and looked down at the ground, putting his hands on his hips. An idea formed in his head, and he made a call on his cellular watch.

"Hello Private Coby," R.O.B answered over the line, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yeah, do you know where the heck Marcus is?" Coby asked, "I've been looking all over the ship for him, but I can't find him anywhere."

"Ah, of course sir. That is probably because he is not on the ship right now,"

There was silence.

"What?" Coby asked with a confused voice as he narrowed his eyes, "No, R.O.B that's impossible. Falco gave you orders to keep the doors locked, didn't he?"

"Yes sir, but Marcus had the overriding code," R.O.B answered, "I assumed Falco gave it to him, so I never told you."

Coby was silent again, but a few nervous butterflies crept into his stomach. They went away as he laughed to himself and shook his head.

"Yeah, okay, good one R.O.B." Coby said, "You're a pretty funny robot."

"I…beg your pardon sir?" R.O.B asked with a confused voice.

"Oh come on, I know you and Marcus are playing a prank on me. You two can stop now. Where's Marcus?"

"Sir, this is not a joke," R.O.B answered with a slightly offended voice, "If you don't believe me, I can scan the whole ship to see if Private Marcus is still on board."

"Yeah, sure thing R.O.B," Coby said with a laugh as he shook his head.

"As you wish sir," the robot answered, "Commencing scan,"

A red line passed through the bridge and went through Coby. It was gone for about ten second until it came back the same direction. When the scan was complete, there was a beeping sound followed by R.O.B saying "all clear". Coby's smile quickly disappeared, and his facial expression turned into one of both fear and anger.

"Oh, that stupid son of a bitch," Coby whispered to himself.

Back outside of the meeting room, Falco and Leon were discussing their next move, and many of the other captains had stayed as well to speak to their first officers.

"We'll head back to the ship and wait for our mission," Falco said, "No reason to go anywhere else for the time being."

"Guess so," Leon said with a nod, "I'm sure the guys will be happy that it went by fast."

A familiar face interrupted their conversation.

"Hey, do you guys know where you are going?" Davian asked as he walked up to them with Dash following, "My crew and I will be going with Perry."

"Not yet, it's too early," Falco answered, and then he smiled at the rabbit, "Guess you're going out with the big boys."

"It's only because I'm part of Perry's crew," Davian answered with shame, "To be honest, I don't feel like I deserve to go."

"Why not?" Leon asked with concern.

"Captain, we'll do fine," Dash said as he put a hand on the rabbit's shoulder, "The crew had a feeling we would be going somewhere with the admiral anyway."

"But not to the Outskirts!" Davian said nervously, "Dash, you've heard about that place. Do you honestly think we are ready for it? There's no way we'll survive!"

Dash gave a large laugh.

"Now, that's not the captain I know!" he said with a large smile, "you're letting you're fear get the best of you again sir. Have you forgot we have people like Drake? That man alone can scare the piss out of an entire pirate regiment! Besides, we'll be going with the best of the best _and_ Perry."

Davian sighed, feeling a little less scared.

"I still don't see why it's me and not you guys," Davian said as he indicated towards Leon and Falco, "You should be the one going out there, not me. You have way more experience Falco."

"Then this is a perfect opportunity for you to earn some," Falco said with an encouraging smile, "This is a good thing Davian. Plus, I'm sure we'll be handling something just as dangerous in our system, so don't you worry about who's getting more action."

Davian did not speak for a few seconds, but then he smiled and nodded.

"Thank you having faith in me sir," Davian said, "It means a lot coming from you of all people."

Their conversation suddenly ended by the sound of something hitting one of the metal walls. The four pilots jumped a little and looked over to the source of the noise, along with the rest of the officers. A white-furred vulpine was snarling and breathing hard as clenched his prosthetic fist.

"Uh oh," Davian mumbled, "This can't be good."

"Damn it all!" the vulpine yelled, "That was the most unnecessary meeting I've ever been called to in my entire life!"

Leon's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the now damaged metal wall the angered captain punched.

"Holy crap," Leon whispered, "He broke right through it!"

"The metal arm sure packs a punch," Dash noted as he took a step back with Davian.

A golden retriever, who Leon assumed was the vulpines first officer, walked up to him with a frustrated look.

"Oh great," the lieutenant said as he starred at the hole, "Way to go captain. Now we'll have to pay for property damage again."

"They should be the ones paying us!" the vulpine yelled, "I have dozens of pirate ships I've got to deal with in the outskirts, and thousands of criminals to catch! What the hell was the Fleet Admiral thinking bringing us all the way back for one lousy, stupid, ridiculous meeting?!"

"That's enough Captain Victor," Captain Tank said as he walked up to the vulpine, "You're letting your anger get to you."

Davian's mouth opened with surprise when he heard that name. Captain Victor was a well-known title outside the Lylat System. He ranked number two for the most enemy ships captured and destroyed outside the system. According to rumor, he would board ships with over one-hundred men and take them out all single-handedly. The vulpine snarled and crossed his arms as he glared at Captain Tank.

"What do you care, Tank?" the vulpine asked with a bitter tone, "It's none of your business."

"I would rather you did not break the walls," the bear countered sternly.

"Oh yeah!?" the vulpine yelled as he clenched his fist again, "Well watch this!"

The vulpine punched another hole next to the one he had made, and Captain Tank growled at him.

"Stop that!" the bear yelled as he approached the vulpine, "The station is not your personal punching bag!"

Captain Victor looked over to the bear and pulled his fist out of the wall.

"What are you going to do about it?" he said with a menacing smile, "I've killed hundreds of men Tank. Are you going to stop me now?"

The bear huffed as if he was not impressed.

"Victor, the only people you fight are mercenary thugs and pirate scum," Tank countered, "Numbers don't mean crap in battle."

"Oh? And who do you fight Tank?" the vulpine said with a mocking voice as he crossed his arms, "I assume you prefer to fight little pups and cubs on a daily basis."

Captain Tank growled and clenched his fists.

"Shut up! You don't know what a real soldier is," Tanks said as he held up his fists, "I've beaten more lion kings and lupines than I can count!"

"So what? Is this some sort of challenge?" the vulpine said with a laugh as he got into his fighting position, "I'll beat you half dead if you try crossing swords with me!"

"I would like nothing more than to pull off your prosthetic arm Victor!" Captain Tank said as he got into a combat stance, "It's about time someone knocked down on your ego!"

Leon was starring wide eyed at the duo, looking back and forth between the captains.

"Are they being serious?" Leon whispered loudly, "They can't just fight here!"

"Bring it on you overweight rug!" Victor yelled.

"You'll regret this Victor!" Tank yelled back.

Before the two could begin their fight, something quickly dashed over and knocked both of them flat onto their stomachs. The figure had moved so fast that nobody in the room could see him until he was standing over the downed captains. As everyone slowly recovered from their shock, they saw Admiral Perry standing with a foot on each of their backs. He was crossing his wings and looking down at them with frustration.

"This isn't a boxing ring," Perry said with a stern voice, "And you two are supposed to be heading towards your ships anyway, so get going!"

"Yes sir," the captains grunted as Perry stepped of their backs and they stood up.

"Victor, if you damage anything else in our station, it'll be a month out of your weekly paycheck, understood?"

The vulpine frowned and slowly nodded. He indicated towards his lieutenant, and they both started walking towards their hanger. Captain Tank was brushing off his uniform when his lieutenant walked up to him.

"Are you alright sir?" the bulldog asked.

"I'm fine," Captain Tank said casually, "Are my sunglasses broken?"

"They look fine sir," the bulldog said as he examined the eyewear.

"Good, then let's head out," Tank said as he began walking away, and his lieutenant followed him.

Perry was watching the two captains walk away with his wings crossed. Realizing the action had ended, many of the other officers in the room began to leave.

"You too Davian," Perry said as he continued to watch the others walk away.

Davian flinched and blinked a couple of times.

"Huh?" the rabbit said stupidly.

"Head to your ship," Perry said as he tilted his head a little to stare at the rabbit with one eye, "I don't expect you of all people to be late."

"Oh, of course sir!" Davian said with a smile as he saluted Perry, and then he looked at Falco and Leon, "I'll catch you guys later."

"Seya around," Leon said, and Falco nodded at the rabbit.

Davian and Dash both began leaving the room with the rest of the captains.

"Captain Falco, you're still here," Perry said, sounding more impatient.

"We're leaving now sir," Falco said as he began heading for his hanger, and Leon followed.

When Perry saw that everybody was leaving, he turned around and walked back into the meeting room. Leon exhaled deeply when he saw the admiral began to leave.

"What was that?" Leon asked, "Did you see what he did to those guys?"

"I don't think anybody did," Falco answered with a small laugh as he began typing messing with his watch, "I'm gonna call Coby and tell him we're on our way."

The line only rang once, and Coby immediately picked up, sounding panicked.

"Falco? Falco is that you!?" Coby said frantically, "Oh thank gosh!"

"Coby? What's going on?" Falco said as both he and Leon stopped to listen.

"It's not my fault captain!" Coby said, now beginning to lose it, "I fell asleep as soon as we left, but that idiot decided to-

"Stop! Coby, slow down," Falco said with a calming voice, "Now, take me back to the beginning."

"What's wrong?" Leon asked, but Falco quickly put a wing up to him, indicated that he needed to keep his mouth shut.

"He's gone sir! Marcus is gone!" Coby yelled.

"What do you mean _gone_ private?" Falco asked.

"I mean he's gone! He's not on the ship anymore!"

"What!?" Leon yelled in anger.

"You mean he's somewhere in Altor Base!?" Falco yelled, "Coby, that's impossible! I gave R.O.B a specific order not to-

"I know, but he said he bypassed it somehow!" Coby interrupted.

"Put R.O.B on the line," Falco said sternly.

Leon closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth. He dug his claws into his head and almost made his scalp bleed.

"What…is…he…doing!?" Leon hissed between his teeth.

Just then, R.O.B got on the phone.

"Hello sir," the robot said with a shamed tone, "I'm sorry captain, but he had the bypass code. There was nothing I could do to stop him, and I assumed you gave it to him."

"Of course not," Falco said, and then he pulled the phone away and swore to himself before adding, "R.O.B, me and Leon will be there in a minute."

"Yes sir," the robot said, and then Falco hung up.

"We need to get back right now," Falco said as he began running for the hanger, and Leon began running with him.

"What will we do though?" Leon asked, sounding more angry then worried, "Falco, he could be anywhere in the base!"

Falco closed his eyes and sighed.

"I don't know Leon," Falco said honestly, "I don't know how we're gonna do."

Leon swore to himself.

"What an idiot!" Leon growled, "We can't go out looking for him, or else people will start wondering what we're doing!"

"I know," Falco said in agreement, "All we can do is pray he doesn't get caught."


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Leon's Father

Marcus starred at the grey-furred lupine with wide eyes and an open mouth. He was shaking badly, and sweat poured out from every possible portion of his body. The vulpine's chest was heaving, and he felt like any moment he would collapse with utter shock. Wolf stood regarding Marcus with crossed arms and an unimpressed gaze. Both of them remained silent for a while, until Wolf pulled off a smug smile and said,

"You look like you're about to pass out boy. What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"

Marcus stopped gasping for air, and he shook his head. Despite the situation, he knew he could not lose his head. Marcus snarled at Wolf, trying to look as intimidating as he could, but his legs and arms were still shaking a bit.

"W-what are you doing here?" Marcus stuttered with a somewhat demanding tone, "You're not supposed to be here!"

Wolf chuckled a little and closed his good eye.

"Neither are you,"

Marcus reached down for his blaster and upholstered it, aiming at Wolf with a shaking grip.

"You…you're a criminal!" Marcus said, "I need to arrest you, even if you are Leon's dad!"

Wolf looked back at Marcus with disappointment.

"Are you seriously just gonna point that blaster at me kid? Look at you. Your hand is shaking so bad, you couldn't hit me from an inch away. You're just embarrassing yourself."

"No, no wait!" Marcus said with a more serious voice, and he finally got his body to stop shaking, "I won't let you continue talking! Now, you're gonna come with me or else I'll-

Before Marcus could continue talking, Wolf decided to act. The lupine dashed over to him, yanked his weapon out of his hand, stood behind him, and pointed it at the back of his head. The whole process happened in a blink of the eye, and Marcus couldn't even react.

"Or you'll do what?" Wolf said with an unsettling voice as he pressed the barrel into Marcus's head, "Shoot me? Well, that seems impossible to do now that you have no weapon."

Marcus felt like his heart would burst. He was so scarred he thought he would start crying. He wanted to cry out for Leon's name.

 _"This is bad,"_ Marcus thought to himself, _"This really bad. His speed is so great, I could barely even see him! I'm horribly outmatched. He could kill me any second now."_

Marcus felt the barrel move from his head, and he heard Wolf burst out again with laughter, but now it sounded much less sinister.

"You should've seen the look on you face!" the lupine laughed, "I really wish Fox could've seen that."

Marcus turned back to Wolf, who smiled at him again, showing all of his teeth.

"Why the terrified look boy?" Wolf asked, "Did you really think I wanted to kill you?"

"Well… yeah, kind of!" Marcus yelled, "I'm your arch rival's son!"

Wolf stopped smiling at Marcus and huffed.

"What, do you think I'm a psychopath or something?" Wolf asked as he handed the blaster back to Marcus and sat down in his chair, "I might be bloodthirsty at times, but I don't lack common sense. I have no reason to kill you."

"No reason!? I'm the son of your arch rival!"

"And my son's stepbrother," Wolf said with a slight grimace, "As much as it pains me to say it, he's become pretty attached to you. Although you do have a good point. If it wasn't for Leon," here Wolf smiled menacingly, "you wouldn't be alive right now."

Marcus felt another icy chill run down his spine. He also flinched when he called him Leon's stepbrother. He had never heard someone refer to Leon as his stepbrother. Marcus had only ever called him his brother, but he did not think on it too much. Instead, he just slowly took deep breathes and tried to calm himself down. It took him a while to realize he even retrieved the blaster from Wolf.

"Your giving this back to me?" Marcus asked with surprise.

"It's not like you can kill me with it," Wolf said with pride, "As you just observed."

Marcus sat down in one of the chairs facing a bridge terminal. He looked back at Wolf, who still smiled darkly at him. Marcus wondered if Wolf meant to look intimidating, or if he genuinely tried to look kind. Marcus had a good feeling Wolf didn't give a crap about looking kind.

"You have a pretty good split of both your parents," Wolf commented with a casual tone, "I can't tell who you look more like."

Marcus smiled and laughed a bit nervously.

"Are…are you sure you're not here to kill me?" the vulpine asked.

"I have other reasons for wanting to see you," Wolf answered as he looked away from Marcus, "Now stop shaking in your boots. You look like you're about to piss your pants."

Marcus quickly shook his head and stood up straight, trying to make himself look bolder.

"So, how is Leon doing?" Wolf asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"I don't really know how to answer that," Marcus answered dumbly, "I guess I should say he's just Leon."

Marcus stopped smiling. He suddenly remembered the source of many of Leon's fears lied within this man. He realized that it was because of this man, this evasive problem, that Leon sometimes had such a hard time sleeping at night. Marcus felt incredibly fearful beforehand, but now he felt a sudden sense of anger.

"You know, he thinks a lot about you," Marcus said with an accusative voice as he glared at Wolf.

"Yeah, I figured he would," Wolf replied.

Marcus's frown deepened at Wolf's apparent disinterest towards his son.

"They're not good thoughts," Marcus continued, "In fact, your very name has haunted him almost every single day and night."

Wolf laughed out loud. Marcus growled at his apparent lack of sympathy.

"You think that's funny?" Marcus barked, "Why are you laughing?"

"Oh please, don't be so damn overdramatic," Wolf said as he looked at Marcus with an unimpressed stare, "my son is fine. Sure, the first eleven years of his life might have been a little rough, but besides that, he's grown up in a very happy family."

"You don't even feel a little bit responsible?" Marcus growled.

"Don't pretend that you know everything about me and my intentions boy," Wolf said as he turned his chair to frown at Marcus more fully, "I had a very good reason for leaving my son on Corneria."

Wolf turned around in his chair and looked back at his terminal.

"For reasons irrelevant to you, I was exiled to the Outskirts a long time ago," Wolf began, "There's very little order in that realm. Only warring factions and some independent worlds, but fire and bloodshed dominate all."

Marcus leaned forward in his chair, looking more intrigued now.

"I was banished alone to an unmarked moon orbiting the planet Golbekia. There I managed to build up a new crew. We stole some individual fighters and a transport freighter, and I went back to doing what I did best: pirating, smuggling, and assassinating."

"How did Leon come into the picture?" Marcus asked, now more curious than angry, "Who's his mother?"

"That's a whole other story and none of your concern," Wolf said with a dismissive voice, "All you need to know is that she died."

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that,"

"In the face of a violent war, I did what was best for my son and took him far away," Wolf continued, ignoring Marcus's sympathy, "The Lylat System was the safest place he could grow up. I snuck into Corneria and left him there."

"Why couldn't you go somewhere else?" Marcus asked, "Surely there has to be some peaceful place in the Outskirts, right? You could've raised him on your own."

"If Leon stayed with me, he wouldn't have lasted a month longer," Wolf replied harshly, "I did him a favor. Besides, like I said, he grew up just fine. In fact, he had a much better childhood then whatever I could've given him, and that's all that really matters."

Marcus sighed and decided not to say anything else on the matter. He hoped Wolf would show some shred of sympathy for Leon, but he seemed wholly unconcerned for him.

Wolf spun around in his chair and began working with the controls. Before he turned on his ship, he dialed a number on his watch, cleared his throat, and said,

"Control, this is transport number 3002, requesting take off."

"Roger that 3002," a voice replied, "Please give your code."

"8819 Blue Sky," Wolf said.

A couple of seconds passed, and then the voice said,

"Thank you 3002; you have been cleared for takeoff."

Wolf nodded and hung-up. He pressed a couple of buttons on the control panel and fired up the engine.

"Better strap in," Wolf said, "This thing can really move if it wants to."

"How the heck did you get a clearance code?" Marcus asked, "And while I'm at it, how did you bypass the rest of the security in this space station?"

"I've got some pretty handy contacts now," he said, "There's a lot of interesting faces in the Outskirts."

Marcus nodded, and Wolf began messing with the controls again. The ship disconnected from its chains and blasted outside the hanger into space.

"Where are we going?" Marcus said, and then he added with a concerned tone, "You know, Leon and the others are gonna start worrying about me if I'm gone too long."

"We're not leaving the station," Wolf said, "Just gonna park somewhere where we can rendezvous with the Great Fox."

"Wait, so you already called Falco?"

"No, not yet. I'll do it after he gets back to the Great Fox."

"But…how will you know when he's back?" Marcus asked curiously.

"I'm able to track each of your cellular watches from here so I know where you all are."

Marcus looked at Wolf with dumbfounded surprise, and the lupine raised an eyebrow.

"That's incredible!" Marcus said excitedly, "How did you get all of this stuff?"

"Another long story for another time."

Neither man spoke for a while, until Marcus realized something odd about the present situation. Wolf and Marcus where now travelling in space to meet up with the Great Fox, but Wolf specifically asked Marcus to sneak onboard his ship for reasons Marcus still didn't know.

"By the way, why did you need me to sneak aboard your ship?"

"Come again?"

"I mean, if you could already just go out into space to wait for us, why didn't you just wait until Falco made it back to the Great Fox? Why did I need to come to your ship first?"

"Oh that," Wolf yawned, "I was just testing to see how good the son of Fox McCloud is."

"WHAT!?" Marcus yelled.

"Good thing you didn't get caught,"

Marcus was fuming.

"YOU MEAN I DIDN'T NEED TO COME ABOARD YOUR SHIP IN THE FIRST PLACE!?"

"Hey, you're the dumbass who agreed to follow the illegal plans of a total stranger on your phone," Wolf countered, "Don't blame me."

Marcus was about to yell again, but instead he just grunted loudly and crossed his arms, looking red in the face with anger.

"Well great, now I feel like I did that whole mission for nothing," Marcus said with a sulking voice.

"Oh, don't be such a baby," Wolf said as he rolled his good eye, "You had fun, didn't you? That's the only reason you agreed to doing it in the first place."

Marcus sighed and leaned back in his chair. After a few more minutes, the ship stopped and Wolf said,

"Ok, now we just wait,"

Marcus turned around in his chair to look at the lupine. He rested his hand behind his head and closed his eye, looking like he was trying to sleep. Despite Marcus's growing comfort around the lupine, he could not help but feel a little bit intimidated by the scarred pirate. Wolf's appearance was not the only thing that made him sinister, but also the strange sense of danger and war that he emitted like radiation. Marcus had felt it before, of course, with his brother, but now its power was far greater. Marcus wondered if the psychic presence of all lupines felt this way, or if it just ran in the family.

"Why did you always fight with my father?"

Wolf opened his good eye and starred at Marcus. The vulpine felt a little bit intimidated by his gaze, and he smiled nervously and said,

"It's just…you two always had a rivalry, and I wanted to know how it all started."

Wolf looked away again and closed his eye.

"It all started when I was a bounty hunter, many years ago," Wolf started with a feeling of nostalgia, "Me and Powalski were looking for a job assignment, and Pigya joined up with us, saying Andross had one. The mission was simple; take out Fox McCloud and the rest of the Star Fox team."

Here Wolf smiled, and his voice became more menacing as he added,

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't thrilled about the mission."

Marcus was listening intently, but then he recognized one of the names Wolf had mentioned.

"Pigya…he was the one who betrayed my grandfather James, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, it was him alright," Wolf answered with a nod.

Marcus frowned a little.

"Did you have anything to do with that?" he asked.

Wolf tuned his head and glared at the vulpine.

"I had nothing to do with his betrayal," he answered with a low voice, "I'll admit that I didn't care about James's death, but that was all between Pigya and Andross."

Marcus sighed a little and nodded.

"Besides, Pigya was killed early on anyways," Wolf continued as he closed his eyes and resumed his posture, "I recruited Panther afterwards, and I liked him a lot more as well."

"What happened to him? More importantly, what happened to Powalski? Hasn't he been with your crew since day one?"

"When I was defeated by Fox in our last confrontation, Panther and Powalski got captured and sent to a federal prison. With some help, I managed to break them out half a decade later. Powalski decided to join up with me again, but Panther was pissed off. He ranted at me before leaving on his own. I haven't seen him ever since."

Marcus was a little surprised.

"He got mad at you?"

"Guess he still held a grudge against me for getting everybody caught. In all honesty, I don't blame him for leaving, but it was sure a big blow. He was a good fighter, and a good pilot."

Marcus looked away and felt his ears drop.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said with a small hint of pity.

Wolf growled, annoyed by Marcus's empathy.

"You don't need to feel sorry for me, runt. It's not like I've lost any sleep over it. Panther can handle himself just fine without me, and I'm sure he's already employed somewhere else."

"What about Powalski? What's he been doing?"

"Working with me. In fact, he's been helping me with this mission."

Before Marcus could ask any more questions, Wolf's cellular watch began going off. He opened his eye and pulled his legs off the dashboard, sitting up straight. He looked down at his device and smiled.

"Looks like the bird has boarded," Wolf said, and then he looked up at Marcus and added, "Well kid, it's time for you to make a phone call."

Marcus flinched, taken aback.

"Me? I thought you were gonna make the call,"

"Well, fortunately, Falco's not as stupid as you, so he won't just pick up a random strangers call on his military device. It has to come from you."

"Okay," Marcus said as he began dialing Falco's number, "What do I tell him?

"Just tell him you're fine and give him the coordinates," Wolf answered, "Don't tell him I'm with you."

Marcus stopped dialing and looked at Wolf with confusion.

"Why not?" the vulpine asked as he tilted his head.

Wolf smiled and chuckled.

"Because I want it to be a surprise,"

"Oh, of course!" Marcus said with an innocent smile as he continued dialing.

A few minutes earlier, Coby was nervously pacing back and forth in the bridge aboard the Great Fox. He was speaking to R.O.B, trying to see if he could pinpoint Marcus's location.

"Try tracking his cellular watch," Coby said with a half-panicked tone.

"Sir, I've already tried that a dozen times now," R.O.B answered, "It's no good. He's far out of my range by now."

"Just keep trying!" Coby demanded, "We need to do everything we can to get him back."

"Very well then sir, but like I said, it will do no good,"

Coby closed his eyes and swore to himself.

"He just had to do it," Coby mumbled under his breath, "He just _had_ to go and see the rest of the space station. He couldn't stay put for one freaking hour!"

Coby growled and began yelling.

"That idiot! Why does he always have to pull crap like this!? There was that time he went loose inside the military factory just to see where all the ammunition was stored! Why can't he just see the things he's _allowed_ to see like everyone else!?"

"He is quite the explorer, isn't he?" R.O.B said with an admiring voice.

"What!?" Coby yelled, "R.O.B, do you actually think this kind of behavior is a _good thing!?_ It'll probably get him killed some day!"

"Perhaps it will," R.O.B answered with a casual voice, "But there was never an explorer who went out into space with safety as his top priority."

Coby was about to yell again, but then his facial expression changed into one of bafflement.

"It can't be helped," R.O.B continued, "Krystal has a naturally curious personality herself, which is one of the reasons she decided to leave with Fox, and it looks like Marcus has inherited that trait. Combine that with Fox's recklessness and audacity, and you get scenarios like this one. Those who desire adventure usually don't care about the dangers that could arise from participating in it."

Coby put a hand under his chin. He realized that R.O.B actually had a good point, but that did not keep him from crossing his arms and snarling.

"He's still an idiot," Coby said.

"Well, I guess there's no debate on that," R.O.B answered with an amused voice.

Just then, one of R.O.B's sensors began going off.

"The captain has arrived," R.O.B said.

Coby waited for Falco and Leon to reach the bridge. When they arrived, Falco immediately asked,

"Have you guys managed to track him down yet?"

"Afraid not sir. I've been trying to track his cellular device, but he's out of range."

Leon walked up to Coby and asked with a desperate voice,

"Didn't you install something in his watch as well? That's how you managed to find him aboard Captain Maine's ship, right?"

Coby sighed and shook his head.

"Mine's way shorter than R.O.B's," Coby answered, "Sorry, but I'm no good here."

"We need to concentrate," Falco stated, trying to sound as calm as he could, "Now, R.O.B, try locating him with the-

Before he could finish, Falco's watch began going off. When he read the name, he was both surprised and relieved.

"It's him," he said with a sigh as he pressed the answer button.

Everyone crowded over to the watch and began taking turns talking. Falco started off, shouting,

"Where the hell are you!? I told you to stay put on the Great Fox!"

"Marcus, are you okay?" Leon asked with concern, "Please tell me you haven't been caught!"

"You dumbass!" Coby yelled, "I close my eyes to get some rest, and you wander off the ship!? What's wrong with you!?"

When Coby finished, Marcus began talking.

"Guys, guys, it's okay!" the vulpine said, trying to calm everyone down, "I'm okay! I haven't been caught."

Everyone sighed with relief, and then Falco began shouting again, but it wasn't as loud this time.

"Where are you right now? Marcus, we can't just go and pick you up in the station. We'll be interrogated if we try to stay here longer than we we're asked."

"I know, but don't worry, you don't have to," Marcus replied, "I'm in a transport right now, parked in space."

All three of them exasperated with surprise.

"How the heck did you get out into space?" Falco asked with both anger and confusion, "More importantly, why are you there!?"

"Oh man, do I have a story to tell you guys!" Marcus said with a laugh, "Look, to sum it up, someone helped me out, I boarded his ship, and now we're both sitting here in space."

"Who's with you?" Falco asked with suspicion.

"You'll know when you pick us up," Marcus answered, "I'm sending the coordinates to R.O.B right now. Head there as soon as you can. Okay, I got to go, bye!"

With that, Marcus hung up, leaving everyone in the room completely dumbfounded.

"Uh…did he just hang up on us?" Coby asked.

"I'm going to beat him senseless when I see him," Falco said as he walked over to his command chair and sat down, "R.O.B, did you get that last part?"

"Yes sir, I just received them,"

"Take us there," Falco demanded.

"Already on it sir," the robot said, and then the ship began moving.

Coby and Leon sat down at opposite terminals, and Leon let out a heavy sigh as he rested his forehead on both of his hands.

"I'll be honest, I'm just relieved he's okay," Leon said.

"Yeah," Falco said, but then he frowned and added, "But that doesn't mean he'll get off scotch free."


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32: More Than a Criminal

Falco, Leon, and Coby waited as the Great Fox took them to the coordinates of Marcus's location. Falco crossed his wings with a suspicion frown as he looked out the viewport. As he starred, a small transport about three times the size of an Arwing came into view.

"There's the ship," Falco pointed at the vessel, "R.O.B, open up the hanger door."

The robot obeyed, and the transport began gliding towards the Great Fox, indicating that it saw the opening. Falco got up from his chair and began heading towards the exit with the other pilots followed him.

"Marcus said he had someone with him," Leon noted as the crew walked down one of the corridors, "What should we do about him?"

"Doesn't matter right now." Falco answered, "We'll deal with it when we get to the hanger."

Coby checked his weapons to make sure they were loaded. Leon took notice of his action and frowned at the raccoon.

"What?" Coby shrugged as he holstered his weapons, "Just making sure in case the visitor is hostile."

When the pilots reached the hanger, the transport had already parked in the center. Nobody had exited yet, and each of the pilots stood on the outside. Falco frowned and put both of his wings on his hips, hollering,

"Well, come on out already,"

Mechanical sounds where heard, followed by a large hiss as the air pressure released. A ramp door lowered down, and a figure began walking out. The steam from the pressure made it difficult to tell who it was.

"You better have a damn good explanation for this Marcus," Falco said with a stern voice, "Otherwise I'll-

The figure exited through the steam, and Falco felt his heart leap into his throat. His eyes and mouth widened with pure shock, and he found it difficult to speak. Coby held the same expression, and the raccoon barely managed to utter,

"Is that…!?"

Falco recovered from his shock and snarled. Acting on instinct, he quickly pulled his blaster out and aimed it at the lupine, who only smiled casually.

"What in the living hell are you doing here Wolf!?" Falco shouted.

In reaction to his captain's response, Coby quickly pulled both of his weapons out as well, taking clear aim at Wolf's head.

"What the heck was Marcus _thinking_!?" Coby said, and his voice cracked with slight fear on the last word.

Leon's held a blank expression. He simply starred at Wolf, and Wolf starred back.

"Guys, wait!" Marcus came running down the ramp, stopping a few yards behind Wolf, "Don't shoot! He doesn't want to fight!"

Neither Falco nor Coby budged.

"Marcus, have you lost your mind!?" Falco shouted with both anger and fear, "Me and Fox fought in mortal combat with that man dozens of times!"

"Why would I fight you in front of my own son, Falco?" Wolf asked casually.

Falco continued to snarl at the lupine, but Wolf's words reminded him of something else that was extremely important. He looked over to Leon, expecting the kid to look either stunned with fear or blinded with rage, but to Falco's confusion, Leon looked completely neutral. Coby looked to him as well, and he flinched when he saw Leon's expression. Marcus tilted his head in confusion.

"L…Leon," Falco said, struggling to find something worthwhile to say to the lupine, but nothing came to mind.

The silence in the hanger seemed to last for an eternity. The tensions of the crew had died down, and they were now all looking at their sergeant with both confusion and curiosity. After what seemed like hours, Wolf finally smiled and said,

"You've grown a lot these past eight years,"

Leon did not reply, and he continued to stare with a neutral expression. A few seconds after Wolf had spoken, Leon began slowly walking towards his biological father. At first, Falco was certain that Leon would attack, but instead he just walked right past him. Leon walked up to Marcus instead, and the vulpine was looking at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"Leon," Marcus mumbled, "are you-

Before he could say anything else, Leon flicked the top of Marcus's forehead with one of his claws, causing the vulpine to yelp with pain.

"Ow!" Marcus said as he held his forehead, "What the heck!"

"You're an idiot!" Leon said with a loud voice, and then he sternly added, "Next time you go off exploring somewhere, do it where you're allowed to."

Everyone except Wolf looked at Leon with wide eyes and open mouths. Wolf looked back at his son with crossed arms and a small frown. Marcus blinked a couple of times and rubbed his forehead before saying,

"Uh, Leon? Are…are you okay?"

"I won't be if you keep worrying me like that!" Leon yelled again, and then he sighed, closing his eyes as he rubbed his forehead, saying, "Man alive, just don't be so stupid all the time. Use your head. You're a telepath for goodness sake."

Leon turned around and walked past his Father without saying a word again. Instead, he went up to Falco and said,

"The Fleet Admiral mentioned that our orders would be given once we exited the station, so that means we might have already got them. I'm gonna head up to the bridge to check with R.O.B; maybe he's gotten them by now."

Leon began walking away, and Falco shouted out to him,

"Wait a minute, Leon!"

Leon stopped and looked back over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Falco said with a confused and almost concerned voice, "Is this really how you're gonna handle the situation?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Leon said as he turned his head and began walking away again, "You're the captain aren't you? You deal with our guest."

With that, Leon left the room, leaving the rest of the crew completely baffled. Wolf smiled and chuckled softly.

"He's pretty stubborn," the lupine said with pride.

Falco snapped out of his confused state and turned back around with a frown, aiming his weapon at Wolf. Coby did the same, although a little less shaky after recovering from his shock.

"Get off my ship right now Wolf," Falco said with a low, stern voice, "In respect to the son you abandoned, I'll spare you're life."

Coby looked at Falco with disbelief.

"Are you kidding me!?" the raccoon said angrily, and then he looked back at Wolf, snarling, "Who cares if he's Leon's real father? Let's waste this guy while we have the chance!"

"Please stop!" Marcus said as he jumped in between the groups, holding up a hand to each party, "Falco, he just wants to talk to you. He says he can help us!"

"Forget it!" Falco barked, "It's bad enough I have to let the bastard live."

Wolf sighed and closed his eyes, holding up his hands in defeat.

"Well, if you're too busy, I guess I'll just leave," he said as he turned around and began walking away, "Good luck on your next mission Falco."

Falco flinched with surprise at Wolf's reaction. He looked down at the ground and lowered his weapon, and Wolf began heading up the ramp. Going with his instincts, Falco said,

"Hold on a second,"

Wolf stopped without turning around. Falco frowned and holstered his weapon, indicating for Coby to do the same. The raccoon was hesitant at first, but then he did so with an aggravated sigh. Falco looked at Wolf and took a couple of steps forward.

"You didn't hurt Marcus, did you?" Falco asked with a threatening voice.

"No, he didn't," Marcus said with a reassuring voice, "Falco, I promise he's-

"I want to hear it from him!" Falco interrupted loudly, "Wolf, if you laid even a paw on him, you better spit it out right now."

Wolf turned around with a bored look on his face.

"I didn't hurt him at all," Wolf said honestly, "Falco, let down on the heat for crying out loud. You look like you're about to blow a casket."

Falco let out a small sigh and looked down at Wolf's feet. He felt some relief come to him, but a sudden sense of anger interrupted his peace, and Falco starred daggers into Marcus's eyes. The vulpine nervously smiled back as he closed his eyes and scratched the back of his head. Falco walked over to the vulpine and grabbed him by his shirt collar, slapping his face left and right with his wing.

"Don't…you…ever…do…that…again!" Falco yelled, slapping Marcus once with each word until his cheeks were bright red, "If you had been caught, you would have been court martialed, and I wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it!"

Marcus blinked a couple of times and shook his head. He looked back at Falco again, smiling brightly with his eyes closed.

"Sorry about that," Marcus laughed.

With one last slap, Falco let Marcus go, and the vulpine rubbed his sore face.

"Cut the kid some slack Falco," Wolf said as he descended the ramp with his arms crossed and a smile on his face, "Surely, you and the others did stuff like that back in your day."

Falco frowned at Wolf.

"Shut up, we're not friends," he said plainly, "However, if you came this far without hurting Marcus, then I guess you really do have something important to say."

"Finally deciding to listen?" Wolf said with slight triumph.

Falco huffed.

"Whatever," Falco said as he turned around, "Follow me. We can talk in the cafeteria."

The old rivals left, leaving Coby and Marcus alone in the room. Marcus rested both of his hands behind his head.

"Leon's Dad sure is a badass!" Marcus said with a laugh, "You should have seen how easily he disarmed me. I bet he's faster than all of us combined!"

Than next thing Marcus felt was the whip of Coby's blaster smacking against his head. This hurt more than both Leon's claw and Falco's wing, and Marcus quickly held his head in pain.

"Ow! What the heck is wrong with you people!?" Marcus shouted.

"What's wrong with us? What's wrong with you!?" Coby shouted back, "You could've got us all in serious trouble!"

Marcus crossed his arms and looked away, mumbling with a sulking voice,

"It's not like I _did_ get caught,"

Coby smacked Marcus again, and the vulpine went back to holding his head.

"Ow! STOP HITTING ME!"

"There, I think that's enough," Coby looked satisfied as he holstered his pistols.

Marcus sighed as he softly rubbed the fresh bumps on his head.

"That wasn't necessary," Marcus whined as he closed his eyes.

"Yes it was," Coby answered as he began walking away, "Now come on idiot."

Marcus looked at Leon as he continued to rub his head.

"Where are we going?" Marcus asked.

Coby stopped and looked back at Marcus with a more serious face then before.

"We're gonna go find your brother,"

Back in the cafeteria, Wolf scrounged through the cabinets bellow the counter while Falco sat down at one of the tables, eyeing the lupine with a suspicion. Wolf let out a frustrated groan as he closed the cabinet.

"C'mon, where is it?" Wolf opened up the cabinets above the counter and began searching through them, "I know that orange runt hid a stash around here somewhere."

"Like I said, Fox quite years ago," Falco sounded impatient, "Just give it up Wolf. There's no alcohol on this ship."

"Well, you would be the first to know I guess," Wolf said with a sarcastic tone, "If I recall correctly, you were quite the drinker yourself back in the day."

Falco frowned at the comment.

"I quite as well," Falco countered, "So did Slippy and Krystal. We all quite."

Wolf looked back at Falco with a smug smile.

"Yes, but supposing you ever wanted to start again?" the lupine asked.

Falco looked away, and Wolf crossed his arms.

"C'mon Falco, where is it?" he asked, "I know you hid some around here yourself."

Falco did not answer at first, but then he closed his eyes and sighed, nodding at the grate next to the fridge.

"Behind there,"

Wolf walked over to the grate and pulled it off the wall. He smiled and laughed as he pulled out a bottle of rum.

"The good stuff too!" the lupine said as he sat down at another table five feet away from Falco, "Looks like you had good taste my friend."

Falco clenched his wings.

"Didn't I already say we're _not_ friends?" Falco asked sternly.

"Right, of course not." Wolf said as he pulled the cap off and took a swig. He then smiled at Falco and added, "You never went drinking with us, did you?"

Falco looked down at the table, recollecting his memories. He remembered the times Fox would accept Wolf's invitations to go out drinking with him and the rest of Wolf's crew. Nobody else in Star Fox ever accepted the invitations but Fox himself. Wolf took another swig and then laughed.

"You know, he was really funny when he got piss drunk," Wolf said as he rested both of his legs up onto the table, "It was times like that when I forgot, just for a night, that we were arch enemies."

"Why did you invite us?" Falco asked.

Wolf closed his eyes and shrugged, placing the bottle onto the table.

"Why not?" the lupine answered, "Enemies can still have a drink together, can't they? I do not see any reason for there to be hatred between us. Although, I will admit, you and Powalski did have a much more intense rivalry then me and Fox."

Falco grimaced.

"What about that washed up lizard?" he said bitterly, "Is he still alive?"

"Alive and working with me," Wolf said with a nod, "Panther left years ago."

Falco huffed.

"So, the womanizer wanna-be gave up," Falco leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, unfortunately. But I have new friends that I work with now."

Falco looked back at Wolf with curiosity. He sat up straight in his chair and rested both of his wings on the table.

"Where have you been all these years?" Falco asked with a semi-interrogative voice, "It's been at least two whole decades since anybody saw you."

Wolf did not answer right off the bat. He waited a couple of seconds before exasperating heavily through his nose, saying,

"When you guys defeated me and my crew in our last mission, I got separated from everyone else," Wolf said as he lifted his legs off of the table and sat up straight, "I crashed landed on Corneria and got captured by agents working for the government."

Falco raised one of his eyebrows with slight surprise.

"Agents?"

"That's right," Wolf said with a small nod, "They took me to some space station and I was offered a deal by a man whom I can only assume worked undercover for the Lylat Federation."

"The government made a deal with you?" Falco asked with an intrigued voice. This was not what he was expecting.

"The offer was simple," Wolf continued, "Give them all the information I had on the underworld, and they would pardon me with exile."

Falco nodded as the pieces of the puzzle began to come together. Something came to his mind, and he thought back on the underworld falling to pieces twenty years ago.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Falco asked with a frown, "Twenty years ago when the government made their move on organized crime, it was because you gave them everything. The underworld collapsed because you ratted them out."

"Bingo," Wolf answered right off the bat with a menacing tone and smile, "Not that I gave a crap about it. They were the ones who betrayed me with my last mission. They stabbed me in the back, hoping Star Fox would kill me, so I stabbed theirs."

"I thought that victory was too easy," Falco said with sudden realization, "You seemed unprepared for us."

"I was," Wolf answered, "It wasn't a fair fight."

It wasn't that Falco felt sorry for Wolf, but he did feel bad that they won an unmatched battle. He decided to change the topic and asked,

"Where were you exiled? Venom?"

Wolf laughed.

"Of course not," he said, "But that was the original destination. Naturally, I rejected it, knowing I would not last a second there. They exiled me outside of the system instead."

"Which planet?"

"Not a planet, a nameless moon orbiting Golbekia. The government must have known little about it though. The place was a breeding ground for criminals like myself." Wolf chuckled with a dark look in his eyes, "I found the environment to be very welcoming."

"And after that?" Falco asked.

"Long story," Wolf said as leaned forward in his chair, "So you want the short or long version?"

"Short version, if it's a long story,"

"Alright then," Wolf cleared his throat, "After building up a crew on the Golbekian moon, I headed off to space to continue my life as a pirate. Things went pretty well for a while, until I unknowingly bit off more than I could chew."

"What happened?"

"My crew and I attacked a transport convey destined for Golbekia. Thanks to a few bribes, we got information saying the transport was carrying rare jewels and artifacts. However, what we didn't know was that the transport's client was Warlord Terra, the most powerful man on Golbekia."

Falco slowly nodded.

"I can see where this is going,"

"Yep, we got on his hit list," Wolf gave a half-menaced smile, "And not just on it, but near the top. Apparently, the inventory of his ship was meant to serve as decoration for his own palace. So, as you would expect, he took our raid pretty personally. Literally hundreds of bounty hunters came after us."

"How did you survive?"

"Well, to put it in simple words, we got lucky. After several months of failure, Warlord Terra finally decided he'd had enough of us, and he sent a cruiser with his own soldiers to take us out. If everyone in our crew had an Arwing, it wouldn't have been very threatening, but we were in no shape to fight. Repetitive attacks from bounty hunters had drained our resources and eroded our ships. When the cruiser finally caught up to us, I was certain we would either be captured or killed."

"Doesn't sound like you got very lucky."

"I wasn't finished. Before the cruiser could attack us, it was intercepted by three other ships, each one about half its size. Strangely enough, the ships were actually weaponized freighters, but that didn't keep them from overpowering the cruiser."

"So, Warlord Terra had other enemies then,"

"Rebel fighters to be exact," Wolf nodded, "After the battle was over, I met up with their Commodore aboard his ship. He said that the New Golbekian Republic had been keeping an eye on us for a while, and that they were looking for recruitment. Under normal circumstances, I would've declined, but I knew that would be suicide. My crew and I needed allies to fight Warlord Terra, and if that meant helping out a rebellion, so be it. And so, for the past few decades, I've been assisting the rebels against Warlord Terra."

"You've been a rebel fighter this whole time?" Falco huffed and shook his head, "That's a little hard to believe Wolf."

"Hey, I never said I joined their cause," Wolf smiled, "I said I was helping them out. We both want Warlord Terra gone, but I could care less about their freedom."

Falco still felt a little doubtful, but he didn't see why Wolf would make up such a story.

"Alright fine, I honestly don't care about what you've been doing anyway, but now I want you to answer this; why are you here?'

Wolf growled a little and sat up straight in his chair.

"I don't need to tell you what's coming. Everyone already knows war is on its way to the Lylat System. However, I can tell you one thing. The people causing havoc in the Lylat System right now are all part of separate factions in the Outskirts. The fact that they are now attacking shows that they will not stay out for much longer."

"We already know that," Falco said with frustration, "We were told today at the meeting. Do you have anything new to-?"

"Falco, you need to convince your admiral to stay out of the Outskirts,"

Falco flinched with surprise.

"What do you mean?" Falco asked.

"Your military isn't ready," Wolf continued, "Tell him to wait. Tell him he needs more men and ships. Tell him to take care of the issues in the Lylat System first."

Falco starred at Wolf with suspicion, and the lupine chuckled again.

"You think I'm lying, don't you?" Wolf asked, "Well, I don't blame you. It wouldn't be the wisest thing to trust a man like me, but this time you need to listen."

Falco didn't answer right off the bat. He let out a small grunt and frowned.

"You have my attention," Falco said.

"Then listen carefully," Wolf began, "Your military may look strong to you, but the factions in the Outskirts would barely even notice your fleet. The admiral wants to make a show of force, but his mission will backfire. The factions will see how weak and low-in-numbers the Lylat Military is, and they will only be further persuaded to attack."

Falco didn't say anything, and Wolf continued talking.

"You've only gained the attention of the smaller and weaker factions for now, but they are just the tip of the iceberg. Soon the larger and less merciful entities will figure out that Lylat System is weak, and when they do, they will strike fast and hard."

"You're saying we wouldn't stand any chance?" Falco asked with a disheartened voice.

Wolf nodded.

"Your system isn't ready for full-fledged war. Your government is still trying to pretend that peace will last forever. If they tried to wage a war now, it would be a very short one, and a massacre for the Lylats."

"Then what do we do?" Falco asked.

"Two things: ignore the Outskirts and build up your military. I'm not saying you won't ever be ready. I'm saying you're just not ready now."

Falco looked at the ground with doubt on his face.

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" Falco asked, "How do I know you aren't working for the Outskirts factions?"

"I may be," Wolf said, and then he smiled grimly, "But when Admiral Perry's fleet is destroyed, and the Lylat people are plunged into the hands of the Outskirts, you will see that I am telling the truth, but it will be far too late."

Falco sighed and looked up at Wolf.

"Why would you try to help us anyway?" Falco asked.

"Because if the Lylat System falls, we all fall," Wolf said, "The enemies of me and my allies have grown stronger. We need your help, but we don't need it now."

"Our help?" Falco asked, "Wolf, do you realize how ridiculous you sound? You're saying you need help from the same government who banished you!"

"Yes, but you see, I'm helping out a band of rebels fighting for their freedom on Golbekia. I've made a personal enemy of their warlord, and if the rebels die, I die. We can't fight our battle alone much longer. We'll need the help of the Lylat Federation."

"Are you telling me _that's_ the reason why you need our help?" Falco laughed and shook his head, "I don't think you've forgiven the Lylat government that easily."

"You're right, I haven't," Wolf said with an honest smile, "But the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Like I said, I'm only helping the rebels to annihilate Warlord Terra. Soon they will need your help, which means _I_ will need your help."

Falco didn't answer. He stood up out of his chair and turned around, crossing his wings.

"We tried to kill each other dozens of times in the past," Wolf said, "But the past is in the past. We have to help each other now, and you can help me, the rebels, the Lylats, and yourself by believing me."

Falco still didn't answer. Wolf smiled and thought of a perfect question.

"What would Fox do?"

Falco flinched and knelt his head down with a sigh.

"He would trust your word," Falco said with reluctance as he turned around.

Wolf smiled and nodded.

"But if this is a trick," Falco said as he walked over to Wolf and glared right into his eyes, "I will hunt you down and kill you. I don't care if your Leon's Father or not. Nothing has changed about you. You're still scum. I can smell the trash all over you."

"You're absolutely right," Wolf said with a smile, "But I'm honest scum."

Falco grunted and nodded.

"I want you gone by the morning," Falco said as he turned around and began walking away, "And if you ever come aboard my ship uninvited again, I'll break your neck."

"Yes, yes, you'll burn me alive, cut my heart out, whatever," Wolf said with a bored voice, "I'll be gone before you wake up."

Falco walked out of the room, and Wolf smiled to himself.

" _You're right Falco, I haven't become a better man at all,"_ Wolf thought to himself, _"But I'm still not the man you used to know. It's true I need your help, but if you knew what I'd become, you wouldn't have spoken to me with such rash confidence."_

Wolf set his rum down and interlocked his fingers. He knew in his heart that, even if Falco did try to kill him, the avian wouldn't stand a chance.

" _I'm something far more dangerous than a mere pirate now,"_


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33: A Raccoon's Curiosity

The Star Fox crew sat in the bridge of the Great Fox. Falco did his best to explain the plan.

"You're gonna talk to Admiral Perry?" Marcus asked.

"Yes, and try to convince him to stay out of the Outskirts for now," Falco responded, "If what Wolf said is true, our fleet won't stand a chance."

"That's if what Wolf said is true," Coby said with doubt, "You sure you trust that guy Falco?"

"He's telling the truth Coby," Marcus said.

"Oh? And how can you tell Marcus?" Coby asked, "I thought you couldn't read the minds of lupines."

"Actually, I can still detect emotions," Marcus said with a smile, "People always feel a small hint of anxiety or worry when they tell lies, even if they're the best liars. Wolf has been completely calm this entire time."

"Alright, fine, but let's assume you _do_ talk to the admiral," Coby said, addressing Falco, "How the heck do you plan on convincing him to stay out of the Outskirts? Everybody knows how stubborn Admiral Perry is, especially you Falco!"

"I'm not gonna speak to Admiral Perry," Falco said, "I'm speaking to the Fleet Admiral."

"Fleet Admiral Tarandro?" Marcus asked, "Why him? He's not conducting the mission."

"Yes, but Coby's right. There's no way Perry will listen to me. I need to speak to his superior instead."

Coby sighed and through his arms up in defeat.

"I've still got a really bad feeling about this," Coby mumbled to himself.

"You're not paid to feel good private," Falco said as he walked over to the command chair and spun around, facing the other pilots, "Coby, Marcus, I need you two to leave. I need to speak with Leon in private."

The rookies nodded and walked out of the room. When they were both gone, Falco stared at Leon intently. He didn't look either angry or concerned. If anything, the avian looked curious. Leon slightly frowned back.

"I think you know what I need to talk to you about," Falco said with a solemn tone.

Leon looked away without answering.

"Leon, look at me," Falco said with a little more concern in his voice.

A few seconds passed until Leon turned his head towards Falco. His frown now looked more defined. Falco's eyes dropped down to the ground.

"There are right ways and wrong ways to dealing with this sort of situation," Falco said with a serious tone, "And I think the right way to handle it is to face it head on."

"What do you want me to do Falco?" Leon asked with honesty, "I didn't yell at him, I didn't attack him, and I didn't make a scene. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Falco was struggling to answer that question. He finally closed his eyes and answered,

"You handled the situation a lot better than I thought you would," Falco admitted with a nod, "But now it's time to move on to phase two."

"There's no phase two to this," Leon said sternly, "He leaves, and then he's gone. We don't even need to see each other while he's here."

"Leon," Falco said as he looked back up, "Listen to me. I understand what you're-

"If you want me to talk to him, forget it," Leon said as he looked away, "Why do you think I ignored him in the first place?"

Falco decided it was time to change his strategy. He frowned at Leon, crossing his wings.

"Is that how a real man would handle this situation?" Falco asked with a harsh tone, "You may think this is mature, but it's the same thing as being passive aggressive. He wants to talk to you Leon, honestly. I can tell your Father wants to speak to you."

"Fox McCloud is my only Father," Leon countered with a tone that was just as harsh, "I don't give a damn what Wolf wants."

Falco quite frowning. He let out a sigh as he got up from his chair and walked away.

"I won't force you to talk to him," Falco said as he stopped and glared back at Leon, "But before I go, let me ask one question. What _would_ Fox do in this situation?"

Leon quite frowning, and his mouth slightly opened. He closed it again and looked down at the grown with narrowed eyes and a convicted expression. Falco smiled at this.

"Think about it Leon," Falco said as he turned around and walked out of the room.

Alone in the bridge, Leon closed his eyes and bent his head down. He knew he was handling the situation poorly, Falco didn't need to tell him that. Leon already knew that his actions were immature, but that wasn't the issue. For the first eleven years of his life, Leon had hated, feared, loved, and admired the same man Falco now asked him to speak to. The thought of confronting him overwhelmed Leon. All of a sudden, he felt exhausted.

"You are at a bit of a crossroads right now, aren't you sir?" a familiar voice said.

Leon opened his eyes with slight surprise. He smiled and chuckled.

"I thought you couldn't understand emotions very well R.O.B,"

"Empathy is not something I possess, but I can still detect emotion," R.O.B said with candidness, "I can deduce that someone is facing internal conflicts by the behavior they project. My last captain showed it all the time."

Leon looked up, thinking about Falco's last question.

"And how did he deal with them?"

"By doing what anyone would do sir," R.O.B answered, "He spoke to others and then took care of the problem himself."

Leon leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he interlocked his fingers.

When Coby and Marcus left the room a few minutes earlier, Coby managed to convince Marcus to play cards with him. The two rookies went to Coby's room and played six games over the course of the evening. Coby won all six games, but Marcus had confidence that he would win the seventh. He starred at the cards in his hand and smiled.

"Ok, I'm going all in!" Marcus said as he pushed his chips into the center.

"Again?" Coby questioned with a smug smile, "You lost the other two times you went all-in."

"I have good cards," Marcus said as he closed his eyes and beamed with confidence.

"Of course you do," Coby answered with sarcasm as he pushed his chips into the center, "I'll call. Now show your cards."

Marcus slammed his card down on the floor.

"I have the ace of spades!" Marcus said triumphantly.

"Three sixes, I win again," Coby said with a bored voice as he set his cards down.

Marcus's ears and smile dropped.

"But…but I had the ace of spades! Doesn't that mean I beat you?"

"Just because you have the highest valued card, it doesn't mean you always win," Coby said with a sigh as he grabbed the cards on the floor and began shuffling them again, "You have to get a pair, or three of a kind, or a full house, or any of that stuff."

Marcus grumbled and crossed his arms.

"That's not fair," he mumbled to himself.

Coby began recollecting the chips, but he didn't distribute them between himself and Marcus this time. Instead, he just put them back in their box.

"Oh, are we done playing?" Marcus asked.

"It gets boring when you've won seven consecutive times in a row," Coby said as he stood up and stretched his back, laying the cards and chips back down on his desk, "I'm gonna go find something else to do."

Marcus nodded and stood up as well. He then smiled as an idea formed in his head.

"I know! Why don't you go talk to Wolf? He'll be leaving tomorrow, so now would be a great time to get to know him."

"Why would I want to talk to him?" Coby said as he readjusted his hat, "We have nothing to talk about."

Marcus shrugged.

"Maybe you guys could become friends or something,"

Coby huffed.

"Last I checked, I almost shot him dead in the hanger," Coby noted.

"So did Falco, but they managed to talk, right?"

Coby rolled his eyes.

"Fine, I guess I'll talk to him just this once," Coby said as he headed for the door.

"Good idea!" Marcus said with a smile as the raccoon left the room.

As Coby walked down one of the corridors, he looked at his watch to check the time on Corneria. It was already 10:00 in the evening. Coby was a little surprised by how much time he and Marcus had spent playing cards.

When Coby got to the cafeteria, he entered and saw Wolf sitting down at one of the tables, scrolling through a hand held screen with a bottle of rum in his hand. The lupine ignored him and continued to look to look at his screen.

Wolf brought the rum bottle up to his mouth, ready to take another drink. Coby smiled and decided to take advantage of the situation. As soon as the tip was about to reach Wolf's mouth, Coby performed a quick draw and blasted the bottle to pieces, sending alcohol and glass all over the place.

"Let me get something clear Wolf," Coby said as he pulled the hammer of his weapon back, "The others may have easily accepted you, but just know that as long as you're on my ship, I'll have a really itchy trigger finger, understand that?"

Wolf looked at the broken glass in his hand and grimaced.

"I wasn't finished with that," he said as he starred daggers into Coby.

Coby smiled menacingly back.

"I've got the fastest and most accurate quick draw on Corneria. One wrong move, and I'll blow your head clean off. Doing it at this range would be child's play for me."

Wolf didn't respond. He merely frowned at Coby, and the raccoon continued to smile at him with pride. Wolf grinned and let out a small chuckle.

"You know, those weapons aren't toys," Wolf said with a dark voice, "The moment you pull them out, you're putting your life at risk."

"I only pull them out when I already feel my life is at risk," Coby frowned at Wolf, "Like when I do around you."

Wolf looked bored. He could've killed him right there. In one movement, his claws could be around Coby's head, snapping his neck before the raccoon knew what was happening. Of course, he had no reason to kill the boy, but the mere simplicity of the scenario amused Wolf.

The raccoon had no idea who he was threatening.

Something else caught Wolf's eye, and it narrowed as he starred at Coby. He put a hand under his chin, almost as if he recognized something about the raccoon.

"Wait a minute," Wolf said with an intrigued tone, "Those clothes…that's the uniform of the Canister Gang, isn't it?"

"It is," Coby answered as he continued to frown at Wolf, "What does it mean to you?"

Wolf continued to look at Coby, and he raised an eyebrow when he saw examined the raccoon's hat. His eye lowered and he smiled again.

"So, that's where Manco's hat went," Wolf said as he starred at the black headwear, "Never thought he gave it to you."

Coby's eyes and mouth widened as if he had just seen a ghost.

"H-Hey, hey!" Coby yelled as he lowered his weapon, "You met Manco!?"

Wolf laughed.

"Kid, Star Wolf used to battle the Canister Gang all the time. You really think I wouldn't know who their leader was?"

Coby's hostile attitude immediately disappeared. The raccoon holstered his weapons and looked at Wolf with desperate curiosity.

"Where is he?" Coby asked, "Is he alright?"

"Why do you care anyway?" Wolf countered as he looked away.

"Just tell me how he is!" Coby demanded.

"Instead of barking orders at me, why don't you sit down and tell me how the heck you know Manco and the Canister Gang?" Wolf asked, "Maybe then you'll convince me to share any information with you."

Coby frowned and looked down. He sighed with resignation and reluctantly walked over to the table. The raccoon took his hat off and looked at it like an old family photo.

Manco. It was a name Coby's hadn't heard in a very long time, but there wasn't a day that went by where he didn't think about it.

Coby clutched his hat. He had a convicted look on his face, like he was deciding whether or not he should really tell Wolf anything. Finally, he began,

"It was nine years ago…"


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34: The Janitor Boy

Ucara only has one tavern. It's old, wooden design and lack of proper maintenance gave it a crude appearance, but that didn't keep the locals away. Located right next to the airline factory, its customers usually consisted of workers. However, for one week, the tavern received a very different audience.

Twelve smugglers sat across the tavern's bar. Their brown, ragged dusters, faded white cowboy hats, and spurred black boots easily distinguished them from the rest of the crowd. They carried lever-action rifles strapped to their backs and revolver blasters holstered on their belts. While their weapons and clothing gave them a menacing look, the smuggler's themselves were very friendly with everyone around them.

The tavern's janitor, a nine-year old raccoon boy, sat on the bar. He snarled at the supposed leader of the smuggler group, who appeared completely chill with a casual welcoming smile. The leader was a komodo dragon, a _very_ rare race in the Lylat System (some would say the rarest). Like the others he wore a duster and carried the same weapons, but his cowboy hat was black like the night sky, and he wore white-glassed goggles over his eyes. The boy's face turned red as he cried out,

"I'm gonna be the best bounty hunter in the Lylat System!"

All of the smugglers in the bar laughed, including the leader.

"You want to be a bounty hunter, do you?" the komodo said with an amused grin, "Please. You're too small and weak for that Coby."

"I'll do it Manco!" Coby yelled as his face turned red, "I just need to get older first. Then I'll be a legendary bounty hunter!"

Manco grinned at Coby, exposing his small, yet razor sharp teeth. Coby continued to growl, but secretly the raccoon loved that smile. Manco's face always looked so kind and friendly. Coby had to keep himself from beaming back.

Over the past week, Coby had managed to befriend Manco and his comrades. The smugglers had taken quite a liking to Coby, and the group seemed to enjoy the kids company. Coby didn't go to any school, so he didn't have any other friends. The raccoon was happier than he had been in a very long time.

"You'll see. The underworld will tremble when they hear my name someday," Coby began again, beaming with pride, "Even you guys will take me seriously at that time!"

"Oh man, I can't get enough of this kid," one of the smugglers laughed.

"I don't know," Manco said with sarcasm, "Maybe he will be a threat someday. The thought of him cleaning our ship sounds terrifying."

The smugglers burst out with laughter again. Coby's pride diminished, and the child grimaced as he sulked in the chair next to Manco. Coby's eyes frowned as he rested his chin on the bar.

"I don't plan on being a janitor in the future," Coby mumbled.

"Of course you don't," Manco chuckled as he regained himself, "However, you need to understand that a lot of people have said what you're saying Coby, both old and young. Those people were a lot more experienced then you, and yet they never reached their dreams."

"No, I'll do it for real though!" Coby lifted up his head and starred at Manco with determination, "You've seen me shoot, right? I'm pretty good!"

A couple of times, Manco let Coby use his revolver to shoot his crewmates empty bottles outside. Each time, Coby impressed Manco and his crew by shooting every bottle without wasting a shot. It was nothing compared to the group's speed and accuracy, but each member agreed that Coby was a natural crack shot. After learning this, Manco and his crew took an even greater liking to the boy, and the friends had a somewhat relatable ground.

"For a nine-year old," Manco grinned at Coby again, "I never said it was good enough to become the best bounty hunter."

Coby beamed again and looked ahead.

"I'll get better then," Coby said, "I'll practice shooting every day until my quick-draw is as good as yours."

"That'll take a life-time," Manco yawned, "and sometimes it's more than just training you know."

"I know, but it's where I'll start," Coby still held his confident smile, "I just need to get older. I'll keep practicing, no matter what!"

"Hey Coby, I'm not paying you to sit down!" the tavern owner yelled from across the room, "Pick up your mop and get cleaning!"

Coby groaned and got up from his chair.

"Don't worry kid, I'm sure you'll find plenty of time to shoot between chores!" one of the smugglers said, causing his comrades to laugh with him.

Coby frowned and grumbled as he began mopping the floor.

A few hours passed, and the smugglers continued to talk and laugh amongst themselves. Coby didn't say anything for a while, until he stepped over to Manco and asked,

"Do you think I stand a chance?"

"Hm?" Manco looked at Coby.

"Being a bounty hunter," Coby expressed a curious, and somewhat worried face, "Do you think I can do it?"

Manco stopped grinning. He almost looked disappointed.

"Why are you asking me that question?" Manco asked, "Didn't you already make it official, regardless of my opinion?"

"Well, you guys don't really seem to believe me, so-

"So what?" Manco interrupted as he turned to face Coby more fully, "Why do you care what we think about it Coby?"

"You guys are the best gun smugglers in the system!" Coby yelled, and then he looked away, "I just wanted to know what you thought about it."

Manco blinked behind his goggled and grinned, chuckling.

"Well, in that case, I really don't think you stand a chance," Manco said.

Coby felt his ears drop.

"Oh," the child said with a disheartened tone.

Later that day, Coby walked on the sidewalk towards his home. His head and ears were down. Manco's words seemed to echo through his head.

"I really don't think you stand a chance…"

Coby sighed and looked up. He began to wonder if Manco was right. Maybe he was being a little bit too ambitious. Coby didn't want to admit it, but the man's words really had a big effect on him. Never once in his life had Coby even considered the possibility of _not_ reaching his dream. He held onto it, always charging forward with unyielding faith no matter what. But now…

Coby rubbed his arms and shivered. The night was colder than usual. Coby looked straight ahead and continued walking.

Coby lived with his uncle in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Ucara. Coby's uncle, who Coby always referred to as Uncle Gabe, worked as a freelance mechanic for small companies and businesses. He and Coby lived in a one story house (although "shack" seemed like a much more fitting term to describe the miserable little shelter), but neither one of them ever seemed to care. Uncle Gabe was very optimistic, and while it seemed unrealistic from a financial perspective, he always bragged about sending Coby to school someday. Secretly, Coby didn't really care about school. He only wanted to get into the Flight Academy. If he wanted to become a bounty hunter, leaving Corneria would be a first huge step.

As Coby approached his home, he was stopped by an unfamiliar scene. His uncle was outside in their front yard, speaking to a group of grim looking men. There were six canine boxers, all dresses in white tank tops with worn out, blue jeans, but the most noticeable features they had were the crowbars on their backs and blasters on their belts. Another member, who Coby rationalized as the leader, was a male bunny with a navy blue suite and red tie. He carried a fancier looking blaster then the other thugs and appeared less grizzly, but that didn't make him any less intimidating. Uncle Gabe had a worried look on his face as he tried reasoning with the leader.

"Just give me a few more days," he pleaded, "You'll have your money then."

"We don't have a few more days," the leader said with an aggravated voice, "Your debt is due now."

"Please, you have to understand. My nephew was sick with a very deadly disease, and I had to use the money for his medication. I would've used it to pay the rent, but-

"Do I look like I care about your personal affairs?" the leader asked with a louder voice, "I don't care if your nephew was sick or not. You should have let the disease do its job if you ask me, saved yourself a lot of money in the future. Kids are too expensive."

Coby's eyes widened when his name was mentioned. He remembered being sick a few weeks before. He was in bed for four whole days, and his uncle stayed home from work. He knew it cost them money sense neither of them were a work, but he had no idea the medicine was expensive.

"Please, show some mercy!" his uncle cried out.

"No, I'm not in the mood," the leader looked bored. He nodded at a couple of the other men, and they grabbed Uncle Gabe, forcing him to his knees. The leader pulled out a blaster.

Coby began to panic. His uncle was about to be executed right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do about it. Coby looked around for anything he could use as a weapon, and he found the perfect missile. A bumpy rock, just big enough to fit in his palm. Coby picked up the rock and hurled it at the back of the leader's head.

A direct hit.

The bunny yelped with pain and looked behind him, holding the back of his head. Coby's smile quickly disappeared as he realized his plan might not have been the smartest idea.

"Grab that runt!" the leader demanded.

Coby didn't even try to run. He picked up another rock to throw, but two of the thugs grabbed him and pulled him over before he could take another shot. They set him down next to his uncle, and the raccoon looked at him with horror.

"Coby!" he yelled, "What were you thinking? You should've ran the moment you got here!"

"They were gonna shoot you Uncle Gabe!" Coby yelled back, but he looked more terrified than angry.

"Is this the child you spent my money on?" the leader asked.

"Please, let him go!"

"No, this seems like a great way to accept my fee," the leader said with a menacing smile, "Don't worry Gabe. I'll spare your life today. In return, I'll take your nephew's."

"No!" Uncle Gabe yelled, and he began crying, "Oh Lord, please don't! Take my life instead! You can't kill a child!"

The leader slowly raised his weapon towards Coby's forehead. Coby's eyes were wide with shock. It was over. His life was about to end. He would never become a bounty hunter. He would never leave Corneria. He would never even leave the city. Coby's eyes turned red, and he tightly closed them as tears began pouring down.

" _Supreme Creator, please help me,"_ Coby prayed, _"Please, don't let me die!"_

"Excuse me," a voice called out.

Coby opened his eyes. The leader turned around, and both Coby and his uncle looked to see who it was. Coby smiled with pure joy, and he cried even harder, yelling,

"Manco!"

The komodo stood with four of his comrades. He had his hands on his hips, grinning as usual.

"Sorry, but me and my boys actually like that kid," the komodo's teeth showed as his grin widened, "We can't just let you kill him and his uncle."

The leader huffed and pointed his weapon at Manco.

"Stay out of this smuggler," the leader ordered with a warning tone, "It's none of your business. This man owes me a debt, and he'll pay for it with his nephew's life."

Manco grin slightly decreased, and the komodo chuckled

"Oh, you're pointing a gun at me," Manco tilted his hat down, "Guess that means you want to fight us. Well, don't say I didn't warn you."

The leader snarled.

"I warned _you_ , sewage spawn!" he yelled as he pulled the trigger.

What happened next, Coby couldn't really explain. Manco rotated his body, somehow dodging the laser from only a few yards away. His movement was so quick, Coby only saw a blur. The leader's eyes widened in terror.

"That's…that's impossible," he mumbled as the blaster shook in his hands, "Nobody can move and react that fast!"

Next thing Coby saw was the leader tumbling over on his back dead with a hole in his head. Once again, it was obscure to Coby's eyes what exactly had happened. Manco's quick draw was more than fast.

It was unnatural.

The thugs exasperated with surprise as their leader fell over. Manco spun his revolver around and holstered it, never breaking his casual stance

"Now then," Manco said lifted up his goggles to stare at the thugs with his large, green, lizard eyes, "You boys gonna throw your lives away too?"

"You…you ass hole!" one of the thugs yelled as he and his buddies began pulling out their blasters.

This time, Manco's crewmen did the job, but there was still nothing normal about it. Even though the thugs had a second head start on them, the smugglers managed to pull out their lever-rifles faster. Coby couldn't tell what was happening, and the thugs were killed in an instant.

Coby looked around at the dead bodies, still shocked from what had just happened. Soon, he felt the arms of Uncle Gabe wrap around his back in a large hug.

"Coby, oh Coby I'm so sorry!" he cried, "I'm so, so sorry!"

Recovering from his shock, Coby's face scrunched up as tears began to fall from his eyes. He tightly closed them as he turned around and hugged his uncle back.

"I'm sorry Uncle Gabe!" Coby cried, "I should've had a better plan when I threw that rock!"

"Don't you dare say you're sorry," his uncle said as he tilted Coby's head up to his eyes. His uncle beamed, "That was stupid, but very brave of you Coby. Thank you."

Coby smiled back. He heard footsteps approaching, and turned to see Manco looking down at them both with his contagious grin.

"Guess it's a good thing I kept an eye on you," Manco laughed.

Coby tried to keep himself from crying when he saw the komodo. He really wanted to look tougher, but he only succeeded for about two seconds. Coby began balling even harder when he jumped up onto Manco, wrapping his legs and arms around his torso.

Coby tried to speak, but he couldn't manage to say anything comprehensible. He only balled as he hugged his friend and guardian. Manco hugged him back, putting a hand behind his head.

"Hey, what's the matter kiddo?" Manco asked as he tilted Coby's eyes up to his own, still grinning, "Stop crying! It's okay now."

Coby tried to control himself, but he still whimpered as he buried his face in Manco's chest.

"I…I thought…" Coby mumbled, "I thought I was gonna die Manco. I really thought-

"Did you really think we would let our friend die?" Manco asked.

Coby eyes brightened a little, and Manco laughed.

"Besides, you still need to become the best bounty hunter, right?" he added, "Well, if that's the case, you can't die now."

Coby's eyes watered up again as he beamed.

"You…you really think I can do it?" he asked.

"No, not really," Manco said with a small laugh, "However, it's not my dream. It's yours. I might not think you can do it Coby, but I do want to see you try."

Coby didn't respond. He only laughed a little as he buried his face in Manco's chest.

Coby's Uncle looked at his nephew and his recent savior with bewilderment. Not knowing what else to do, he put his hands on the ground and buried his forehead in the dirt, literally bowing towards Manco.

"I'm eternally grateful," Coby's uncle said, "I don't know who you men are, but I owe you my life!"

Manco stopped smiling when he saw the man. His comrades, who were looking at the scene from a few yards away, looked dumfounded.

"Uh…is that guy bowing to the captain?" one of the smugglers said.

"He's weird," added another one.

Manco smiled awkwardly as he set Coby down.

"Uh, sure no problem," Manco said, "But you really don't owe us anything. Coby's a friend. We didn't save him for anyone's gratitude…no offense."

"No, none taken," the raccoon said as he stood up smiling, wiping his eyes, "You still have my thanks."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Manco nodded like it was nothing. The komodo resumed a friendly grin, "You guys have been shaken up a bit. Tell you what; why don't you head down to the tavern with us and spend the night? We'll pay."

"What?" Uncle Gabe's eyes widened in shock at the man's generosity. The man had already save their lives, so he saw no right to accept the offer, "N-no, we'll be fine, thank-

"Oh come on, don't act like that," Manco laughed and outstretched his arm, "It's no big deal. I really want to talk some more."

Coby looked overjoyed with the proposal.

"Can we spend the night with them Uncle Gabe, please?" Coby begged.

Uncle Gabe blinked and then sighed, smiling. He shrugged and said,

"Alright, I don't see why not,"

Coby laughed with excitement, and the group began walking back to the tavern. Manco lagged behind a little to speak with Uncle Gabe. Coby stood right next to him.

"By the way, what was that all about?" Manco asked, "Why was that man trying to kill you and your nephew?"

Uncle Gabe blushed with shame and looked away.

"It's a long story, and it involves me being a tremendous coward," Uncle Gabe mumbled.

"I highly doubt that," Manco huffed, "Tell me more at the tavern. I'm truly curious about it."

The next day, Manco and his crew decided to leave the planet. Manco's crewmen packed up, but Manco himself had to accept Coby's farewell, but it wasn't really a farewell at all.

"Why are you already leaving?" Coby whined, "You guys can stay at the tavern for a few more days, right?"

"Sorry Coby, but we've got other things to do," Manco grinned at the raccoon.

"Come on, just one more day!" Coby begged.

"Captain! We're gonna leave soon!" one of the crewmen yelled.

"I'll be there in a minute," Manco yelled back, "Go ahead and fire her up."

"Aye captain," the man responded.

Manco looked back at Coby. The raccoon looked sad.

"Are you guys gonna come back?" Coby asked.

"Maybe someday, but don't get your hopes up. Smuggling's a busy business, especially in today's market."

Coby looked down with sad eyes. Manco stepped closer to him and got on his knees.

"But you can come see us in the future Coby," Manco said, "When you grow up and become a bounty hunter, you'll come after us, and then we'll spend lots of time fighting each other. Didn't you say you would become a threat to us?"

Coby looked back up at Manco.

"If you don't think I can do it, why do you keep counting on it?" Coby asked, "I know you want to see me try, but why are you making it sound like you know I'll succeed?"

"Coby, I'm gonna be honest with you," Manco said as he lifted up his goggles, "I'm only saying that because I think you can become _more_ than a bounty hunter."

Coby's eyes widened with confusion.

"Like I said, it's your dream, you do what you want," Manco said, and then he chuckled and added, "But I just don't think it's a very aspiring dream. The best bounty hunter in the system? No Coby, I don't think you can do it. Because, in the future, when you discover more and more about yourself, you'll see that you're born for so much more than that. You'll understand that your abilities can take you through much greater lengths, and then you won't want to become the best bounty hunter. You'll want to become something even greater."

Coby blinked at the komodo. He didn't know what to say. He never thought he believed in him that much. Beforehand, Coby felt his spirits crushed by the man, but now he felt a little nervous by the man's expectations for him.

"What…what _will_ I become Manco?" Coby asked.

Manco continued to grin as he pulled off his hat, putting it on Coby's head. That hat was way too big for him, and Coby had to lean it all the way back just to see Manco.

"Something great Coby," Manco answered as he stood up.

The komodo began walking towards his ship, and Coby cried out,

"Hey, what about your hat!?"

Manco didn't answer. He walked up into his ship, and the ramp closed. The ship lifted up off the ground, and blasted off towards the sky.

Coby watched as the ship passed through the clouds and out of sight. He took off his hat and looked at it. For some strange reason, Coby couldn't help but smile. He looked up into the sky again.

"You guys are so awesome," Coby whispered.


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35: Resolution

Back in the Great Fox's lounge, Wolf was listing intently as Coby wrapped up his story.

"I've never told anyone else about Manco or Canister Gang," Coby mumbled as he picked loose lent off of his hat, "not even Marcus or Leon. I don't really know why, but every time I wanted to tell them, it felt…wrong, like I would be giving away a precious secret."

"It feels sacred to you," Wolf nodded, "I understand that feeling."

Coby looked at Wolf with worried eyes.

"So, you won't-?

"I won't tell anyone," Wolf yawned, "but I'm still curious. Was that the last time you saw Manco?"

Coby sighed and nodded.

"He never even contacted me. Never called, never sent messages, nothing. For the last nine years, I didn't even know if he and his crew were still alive."

Wolf huffed and grimaced.

"Are you kidding me? Every one of those smuggling wretches is a legendary fighter. Of course they're alive."

Coby looked up at Wolf.

"Yep, all of them," Wolf continued, "Met them on Golbekia a few months ago."

Coby smiled and sighed heavily with relief. The raccoon chuckled.

"Well, I guess I already knew that in a way. Still though, it's nice to know they're okay."

Wolf narrowed his eyes and looked at Coby with suspicion. Manco saw something in the boy, but Wolf couldn't figure out what it was. To him, Coby looked like nothing but a hot-headed, trigger happy amateur. Nothing seemed particularly interesting or unique about him. Wolf didn't see why Manco would bother to save the boy and give him hope.

 _"Then again,"_ Wolf thought to himself, _"You always had sharper eyes, didn't you?"_

"I made myself a promise the day he left," Coby put his hat back on, "I promised that I would go out into space and find Manco and his crew."

Wolf laughed out loud.

"That's easier said than done," Wolf looked at Coby with doubt, "Manco's in the Outskirts. You'll never survive long enough to see him."

"I don't care if he's in the deepest pit of hell," Coby laughed, "I'll do whatever it takes to see him again. If I have to get stronger, I will. If I have to risk my life, well, I'm already doing that, so it wouldn't be much of a change."

"I see," Wolf made a humming sound, "You've got determination kid. I'll give you that. However, actions speak louder than words. You and your crew are gonna have to prove yourselves a lot more before you're ready for the Outskirts."

The sound of the door opening interrupted Coby and Wolf's conversation. Coby turned around, and Wolf leaned in his chair to look around the raccoon. Leon stood at the doorway with his hands in his pockets. Coby looked surprised, but Wolf hardly reacted.

"Coby, I need you to leave," Leon demanded.

Coby looked back at Wolf with concern. The lupine looked at him with his good eye and nodded slightly. Coby sighed and got up from his chair.

"Please don't do anything stupid," Coby whispered to Leon as he walked past him through the exit.

The door closed, and Leon walked over to the table with a relaxed posture. He sat opposite from Wolf, not looking him in the eye.

Neither man spoke at first. Wolf put a hand underneath his chin and studied his son, while Leon looked down at the table, occasionally glancing up at his father. After a few minutes, Wolf sighed through his nose and crossed his arms.

"So what, are you just gonna pretend I don't exist like last time?" Wolf asked.

Leon didn't respond. He continued to look at the table.

"If you don't want to talk, don't waste your time. You'd be better off-

"Who's my Mother?" Leon interrupted as he looked up at his father, "Where has she been this whole time?"

Wolf's eye narrowed a little.

"Is that really all you want to know?"

"I'm just here to ask questions," Leon replied with a casual voice, "I'm not here to fight you. I'm not here to yell and argue with you. I just want to know some things every child deserves to know."

Wolf blinked at his son and sat up straight in his chair.

"A long time ago, in the Outskirts of the Lylat Federation, My crew and I unintentionally made enemies with a very powerful Golbekian warlord. Outmatched and chased at every corner, we knew we had to get help. Luckily for us, we learned that the warlord had other enemies. A small patch of rebel fighters challenged the tyrant on his own world. We made an alliance with these rebels and began fighting the warlord together."

"What does this have to do with my mother?" Leon asked.

"Everything, actually. Her name was Alyssa. She was a military commander for the rebel army."

Leon's mouth opened slightly.

"My mother led a rebel army?"

Wolf nodded. A small grin spread across his muzzle.

"She was both a ruthless fighter and a gifted leader. Like any warrior, I admired her skill in combat and her tactical mind. However, there was something else about her as well. She was very kind and merciful, never showing signs of cold-blooded hatred or lust for revenge. I've never seen someone with all those traits combined. It was…interesting."

"You loved her?" Leon asked.

"Love her?" Wolf closed his eye, still grinning, "Not at first, no. It took me a while to grow any thoughts of compassion or desire for her. I was selfish and disinterested, so creating any bonds with anyone, especially a bond of love, was nearly impossible for me. The only people I had ever remotely cared about was my crew, but even then our friendships were kind of shaky."

"But later on… you did fall in love?"

Wolf remembered the exact moment he fell in love with Alyssa. It was the most enlightening and joyful point of his life, like a door to heaven opened before his eyes, and he never even knew it was there. Just the memory of it brought happiness to his heart. However, instead of giving Leon a full account, he only said,

"I did, and that's how you came along later," Wolf opened his eye and looked at Leon.

Leon looked down at the table and sighed,

"Sounds like she was a good woman. I wish I could've met her."

"So do I," Wolf nodded, "And make no mistake, she cared for you more than anything else in this world. She would've loved to see the kind of man you're becoming today."

Leon blushed and chuckled a little. However, his smile went away when he asked,

"How did she die?"

Wolf felt a black memory creep into his mind. His eye glared and his fists tightened so hard, he almost bled his palms with his claws. Like the time memory when he fell in love with Alyssa, the memory when he lost her also never left, and it only brought hatred and malice to his heart when he thought of it. Wolf breathed hard, trying to control his rising anger.

"Bounty Hunters came one night and took her life,"

Leon looked back up at his Father with a hint of pity on his face.

"That must have been hard for you. I'm sorry,"

Wolf glared at Leon, still feeling a little angry. It wasn't against his son, but it was still there. Finally he decided to talk on a more personal matter which he knew Leon was curious about.

"I didn't want my son to grow up on a war torn world," Wolf said, "That's why I left you on Corneria. I had a warlord to fight, and if I stayed with you, I would only threaten your life."

Wolf sat up straight in his chair and starred directly into Leon's eyes.

"Do you hate me for that?"

Leon didn't react to his Father's question. He continued to stare at him with a blank expression, showing no sign of anger or hate. However, there was a look of contemplation in the boy's eyes, as if he was trying to answer the question.

"There were times that I was angry," Leon began, "times when I thought I hated you. The thought that you abandoned me filled me with rage and hatred. The idea that I had the blood of a criminal in my veins disgusted me." Leon looked down at the table again, "But it wasn't all hate. Sometimes I thought I loved you. Some nights I dreamed about you picking me up from the orphanage. I would fantasize about doing anything to make you proud, including murder."

Wolf didn't respond. He had his arms crossed, listening intently.

"But after all this time, over the last eight years of my life, I discovered something,"

Leon looked back up at Wolf with an honest face.

"All of that hatred and love was a mirage. It was nothing but a veil, the illusions of a scared little boy disguising themselves as the one thing he truly desired."

"What was that?" Wolf asked, already knowing the answer.

Leon smiled softly and answered,

"To be loved,"

Leon chuckled and blushed slightly.

"When Fox adopted me, I was given so many things I didn't even know existed," Leon continued, "I was given a loving Mother and a stupid younger brother. Slowly but surely, my thoughts about you began to disappear. They were replaced with real family and real love and memories, so many good memories. In fact I…I don't really remember the first eleven years of my life very well. It's all just a blur."

Leon's smile disappeared.

"Of course, not everything went away. There were certain moments when I was afraid I would have to fight you, but they were rare and widespread. And now that you're here, I don't ever have to worry about that again. Now I know I won't have to fight you. So, to answer your question, no. I don't hate you. I've never hated you. After all, I can't hate someone I barely even know."

Wolf hardly flinched at his son's confession. He only nodded in a formal way.

"I guess that's cleared up then,"

"So, what happens now?" Leon asked.

"Nothing," Wolf answered as he stood up from his chair and stretched his back, "we continue living our lives like we never even met each other. We both know what we want to know, and that's all we need."

"But is that okay?" Leon asked, looking conflicted, "Is it really right for us both to just be separated like that?"

Wolf bellowed with laughter.

"Man, you really _do_ sound like Fox," Wolf struck a smug grin at his son, "Don't think too hard on it. It's pretty obvious that staying apart is the best decision for us both."

Leon blinked and nodded, still looking unsure. Wolf began walking towards the exit until Leon called out,

What did I inherit from my mother?"

Wolf stopped and shot a cryptic smile at Leon over his shoulder.

"Let's just say you've inherited her virtues and fur color. Everything else comes from good old Dad."

With that, Wolf left Leon alone in the room.


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Promises

The very next morning, Wolf got a call from Powalski at 6:00. The lizard told him that he would be arriving in five minutes, so Wolf decided to get up. Everyone else onboard was sound asleep, and Wolf saw no reason to wake them up. He asked R.O.B to open up the hanger door for Leon's ship, and then he headed down.

Five minutes later, a two-man fighter, about twice the size of an Arwing, entered the hanger. Wolf walked over as it landed. The cockpit door opened, and Wolf's lizard companion stood up, waving at him.

"Long time no see Powalski," Wolf said as he waved back.

The lizard frowned and grunted.

"For the last time Wolf, my name is Leon!" the lizard shouted, "Stop calling me by my last name. It's getting old!"

"But my son's name is Leon," Wolf noted as he continued to smile, "And I'm certainly not gonna call him O'Donnell."

"Doesn't he have a middle name?" Powalski asked as he stepped down from the ship, "Or were you just too lazy to give him one?"

"Lupines don't give their children middle names,"

The lizard rolled his large eyes.

"Just my luck you had to go and name your brat after me,"

"Take it as a compliment," Wolf chuckled, "I actually like your name."

"I'm flattered," Powalski huffed with sarcasm, "Now, can we go please? We need to get back to Golbekia soon. The head council needs us. They say it's urgent."

"Just a minute," Wolf walked over to the small transport he and Marcus used, "I was thinking about what to do with this thing."

Powalski sighed as he stood next to Wolf, examining the transport.

"Well, we can't take it with us," Powalski said, "Rusty thing has no hyper drive on it."

Wolf put a paw under his chin, thinking about their options. He shrugged and said,

"Well, we can just leave it here I guess. A little going away present for Falco and his crew."

Powalski grimaced when he heard Falco's name.

"Is that half-assed turkey really on this ship?" the lizard asked with a bitter tone, "because if we're gonna leave the transport for him, we might as well lace it with explosives."

Wolf let out a large laugh.

"Twenty or so years now, and you still have a grudge?" Wolf asked with amusement.

"Unlike you and Fox, our rivalry was never filled with good humor and friendship," the lizard said, still with bitterness.

"Right, how could I forget?" Wolf said as he and Powalski walked over to the two-man fighter, "You really have a salty attitude towards him."

"I have a salty attitude towards most things," Powalski said with a matter-of-fact voice, "Probably because I have a salty life and a salty job and salty friends."

"Yeah, yeah, don't start another rant one of your rants. I hear them more than I want."

Powalski climbed onto the ship, and Wolf was about to board as well until someone else in the hanger yelled,

"Leaving without saying goodbye?"

Wolf paused halfway on the ship and turned around. Leon stood at the doorway in red striped pajama jeans with his hands on his hips. Wolf looked a little taken aback, and Powalski raised an eyebrow with surprise.

"Is _that_ your son?" Powalski asked.

Wolf starred at Leon for a few seconds before a small grin spread across his muzzle.

"Yeah, it is," Wolf answered as he stepped down from the ship.

Powalski huffed.

"Figured he'd be taller," the lizard said with an unimpressed tone, "I'll wait here. Make it quick. We've really got to go.

Wolf walked over to his son, who moved his hands from his hips and crossed his arms. He wasn't smiling or frowning, but it wasn't exactly a blank stare either. His grey lifeless eyes, the same ones as his father, were filled with a fiery determination.

"I thought you'd be asleep with the others," Wolf said as he walked over.

"I don't like sleeping in," Leon answered.

There was silence for a couple of seconds, and then Wolf said,

"The transport is yours. We can't take it with us since it has no hyper drive, but I'm sure you guys can make some use out of it."

"Old man, I need you to promise me something," Leon said, changing the subject.

Wolf crossed his arms, looking at Leon with a curiosity.

"And what promise is that?" Wolf asked.

"In the future, whether it be in space, the Lylat System, or the Outskirts, promise me that we'll meet up someday."

Wolf's eye dropped a little as he thought of the request.

"We don't have to be father and son, or even friends right now," Leon continued, "However, in the future, it would be nice if we could be at least _one_ of those things, right?"

Wolf closed his eye completely, smiling.

"Yeah, I guess it would be," Wolf plainly answered.

Leon struck a small smile, feeling a hint of hope grow in his chest.

"However," Wolf opened his eye again, "I need you to promise me something as well."

Leon stopped smiling.

"I want you to get stronger," Wolf said, sounding more fatherly now with Leon than any other time, "And I don't mean just lifting more. I want you to have _power_. I want you to break your limits until you're limitless. Perform the unnatural. Break the unbreakable. The next time we meet," here Wolf grinned menacingly, "I want you to kick my ass deep into the ground. Understand boy?"

Leon's eyes grew dark as he smiled back at his father.

"All right, you've got a deal old man," Leon nodded.

Wolf offered Leon his hand. His son shook it firmly, and Wolf's menacing appeal slowly died away until he was smiling normally again. It liked like he was about to say something else, but instead he just turned around and walked back to the ship. He climbed on board, and Powalski fired up the engine.

"By the way," Leon yelled over the noise, "thanks for the plasma blaster. The bayonet is really cool!"

Wolf was surprised at first, but then he grinned and nodded.

"A little graduation gift," Wolf shouted back, "Served me well in the past, so take good care of it!"

With those last words, the door to the cockpit closed, and the ship blasted off into space.

Leon smiled as he watched his Father's ship disappear into the distance. He stood in the hanger, watching the empty void of space. It was times like these in places like this were Leon got feelings he couldn't really explain, like he could sense very near parts of the future that would play a big role in his life. Leon chuckled to himself.

For some reason, he saw a marvelous adventure in store for the Star Fox team.

END OF PART 3

* * *

 **FINALLY DONE!**

 **First off, I would like to apologize for a lot of stuff in this part. I noticed some of the scenes are nothing but pure exposition, and the detail is lacking in a LOT of places. Oh well, it could've been worse I guess. I'm satisfied with the story so far, but I don't want to settle for anything less than my best effort.**

 **Concerning Part Four. Right now, it's still very early in development. I've deleted about twenty thousand words of material that was gonna be Part Four, but I finally got my outline together, so that shouldn't happen again. It should be released sometime in December (probably around Christmas). I know that's a while away, but I REALLY don't want to rush it.**

 **Also, WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? I know it's cocky to ask for reviews, but I really do want your guys's thoughts. What am I doing right? What am I doing wrong? What can I do better? What should I fix? What do you want to see? Come on, GIVE ME SOME FEEDBACK PEOPLE! So far, Dram and Xengo have given me a lot of reviews, and that's been super, AMAZINGLY helpful, but I need more than just two people's criticism. Even a small, one or two sentence review makes a huge impact. Not only does it encourage me, but it also helps me write better.**

 **Anyway, I'm hope you guys have enjoyed this! I've certainly loved writing it, and I feel very motivated to continue. I really don't want to let this series die like so many other Fan Fictions. You have no idea how much all your support has helped keep this story alive. You guys are awesome!**

 **Good night (or day) to you all, and God bless!**


	37. End of the Line

**(UPDATE: THE SEQUEL'S UP! It's called "Star Fox: Outskirts" GO CHECK IT OUT IF YOU'RE STILL INTERESTED!)**

 **Hello everybody**

 **If you're here for the next chapter, I'm sorry to disappoint. There's no story content in here. If you want to know what's going on, please keep reading. There is some good news at the end.**

 **I'm done with "Star Fox: Sons of Legends". I know I promised to continue the story, and I'm sorry to let all my readers down who were anticipating Part 4. However, you must understand that there are a LOT of reasons for it to stop right here, and I'll even list them for you.**

 **#1. For the most part, the descriptions and OCs are just awful. You guys might enjoy it, but I'm thoroughly embarrassed about the lack of detail my story has. I can't continue writing the story if the basic elements that make up any story are incredibly lacking in several different areas. The description of Altor Base and most of the OC characters is a freaking joke. I also introduced WAY too many characters in Part Three without allowing any of them to develop properly. Coby turned out all right, but everyone else is just so bland. I cannot BELIEVE that no one has called me out yet on the piss-poor descriptions and character developments. It truly is a miracle that I have gotten the story this far without anyone totally ripping it to shreds.**

 **#2. The plot in Part Three...wow, did I mess that up. It's way too big and broad, and I made it overly complex and ridiculous up to the point where I tied myself up in a million knots. I didn't even know where to begin with Part 4 because the whole thing with the captains going into the Outskirts and Wolf meeting Falco and the gathering at Altor Base and all the rest of that nonsense really messed everything up. I didn't have a plan after that, and I literally started up Part 4 at LEAST five separate times, never getting more than three chapters into it before giving up entirley because each one was bad. So, SO bad.**

 **#3. A significant lack of reviews. Okay, now PLEASE understand just how important this point is. If my readers are hardly ever giving me feedback, how am I supposed to know whether or not the story's good? If there are things wrong with it (which obviously there are, since no story is perfect and I'm an amateur writer), how I'm a supposed to improve on those things if no one is pointing them out? Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the encouragement you guys give me, and I'm grateful to all of my readers. However, if a writer is given NOTHING but encouragement without any form of constructive criticism, how is he supposed to become a better writer? I don't want to just blindly write a story with little to no advice from those who read it, especially a long story (note: Don't feel guilty if you didn't post a review. This is in no way an attack on the readers. People are busy with other stuff, and sometimes we just want to read a fun story without having to think about the quality of the writing itself. But I don't want to produce content that is merely entertaining to some people. I want GOOD content that lots of people can enjoy, or at least that I know is good).**

 **#4. Probably the biggest killer right now is High School. My first semester of senior year has been absolutely dreadful, and I've had little to no time for any writing outside of the classroom. It's just taken up way too much of my time, and I get so drawn in to my fanfiction writing that it can actually effect my academics in a negative way.**

 **But WAIT, THERE IS SOME GOOD NEWS!**

 **In all honesty, I've enjoyed writing this story a lot. I loved writing and developing the main characters overtime, and I think there were a lot of good things going for it. For instance, I liked Coby a lot, and I loved writing his backstory. I don't want Coby, Marcus, or Leon to die. Heck, I don't even wanna leave Sergeant Drake Winter or Admiral Perry in the dust because I still think I can do something with them.**

 **I wanna continue writing Star Fox fanfictions on this website, and I wanna use the characters I've already written (at least, the one's I've written well). Leon (Wolf's son) will be back too, but I'll probably be changing his name to something else, just so nobody confuses him with the other Leon. That was a poor name decision.**

 **I love entertaining you guys, but I still wanna write well. So! Here's what I've decided to do.**

 **I MIGHT do a sequel to Sons of Legends, but no promises. I don't even have a premise for a sequel yet.**

 **Besides that, I'll probably just do some one-shots with other characters, maybe even a few AUs of the AU. All you guys need to know is that *with strong Texas accent* I AIN'T QUITTIN YET!**

 **Hopefully I'll be back soon with the writing. If you guys thought this was the right or wrong decision, or had any final thoughts on my story, please leave a review or PM me.**

 **Good day to you all, and God Bless!**

 **-Chopper Joe**


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